Ouran High School Ghost Club
by KawaiiBoushi
Summary: When Boushi Aizawa gets roped into joining the Host Club, she gets way more than she didn't bargain for in the first place - psychic powers, monsters trying to kill her, crazy rich people that might be the death of her. The fate of the world depends entirely on the Host Club...now there's a scary thought.
1. The Day My Life Started to Suck

**A/N: 11/26/13 - DISCLAIMER: I was like 14 ok. Don't judge me. Go read one of my Persona stories or something.  
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Just when I thought my first year of high school was going great, I met the Host Club. Here, let me back up a little bit. My name is Boushi Aizawa. I'm 15 years old, and this is my first year at Ouran High School. Ouran Academy is generally a school for the rich and those of high social standing (and by high social standing, I'm not talking popular kids at your average high school. I'm talking children of movie stars, businesspeople, and I think Yakuza…), but I got in on a scholarship. If I can keep my grades up, I can get into their university division, and they're one of the best schools out there. Of course, if I had known what was waiting for me at Ouran, you couldn't have paid me to take that scholarship.

It's not that I can't handle the classes, or that the other students are treating me badly. No, the classes are fine, and the students are mostly nice enough people. Usually, I don't socialize much because all anyone ever talks about are their vacations to exotic countries and who they've been rubbing elbows with at parties and crap like that. My problems started a couple weeks into school, when I made the mistake of looking for a quiet place to study.

I had tried three libraries, only to find each chock-full of students gossiping and drinking tea and generally not helping my quiet study time. So when I came across what I thought was an abandoned music room, it never crossed my mind that opening that door would change my life, for better or for worse.

"Welcome to the Host Club!" rang out half a dozen voices as I was closing the doors.

I froze. Slowly turning around, I saw six boys gathered around a couch, each holding a rose.

"Um, I, uh…" I managed. Maybe if I left now, these obviously insane guys who stood around music rooms holding roses and calling themselves a "Host Club" would think they'd imagined me. I inched backwards, feeling for the handle, like they wouldn't notice me if I moved slowly enough.

"Oh, it's just a boy," chorused two identical red-heads, relaxing.

Pausing, I looked down at myself, momentarily distracted from my goal. A boy? I know I couldn't afford a uniform (we had to choose between buying me a school uniform or paying our mortgage this month), and maybe I was wearing one of my dad's sweaters, but did I really look like a boy? Either way, the jig was up, it was too late to pretend I was never there.

"Um, do any of you know where-" I was cut off by the tall blond one.

"Now, now, don't be rude, he's still a guest," he scolded the red-heads. He got up and started walking towards – me! _Oh crap, now what?_ I thought frantically. I could make a break for it, but he was already standing right next to me, holding a rose in my face.

"And who are you?" He asked. Ignoring the question, and the sparkles that seemed to spontaneously generate around him, I ducked under the blond guy's arm.

"As I was saying, do you any of you know-" I started to ask again, and was interrupted again, this time by a boy with black hair.

"This is Boushi Aizawa, first year, scholarship student," he stated, adjusting his glasses.

"Hey, how do you know who I-"

"Ah, the scholarship student! I've heard about you. It's inspiring that a commoner such as yourself can survive in this unfamiliar environment. You're a role model to poor folks everywhere!" declared the sparkly blond guy, prancing around like an idiot. I decided I didn't like him very much. "Do not despair, Boushi Aizawa, for with perseverance, you may someday rise from the poverty you reside in!" Scratch that. I didn't like this guy one bit.

"Right, well, thanks for your help. I'll be on my way now." I started to leave, but I was being dragged away from the door by the blond moron. The rest of the Host Club had dispersed, looking bored. Did they not notice or just not care I was being abducted?

"Come, you must tell me all about the life of a commoner. Oh, and my name is Tamaki Suoh, but please…call me king." He grinned at me stupidly, and amped up the sparkles.

"Uh, yeah, whatever, I'm out of here." I pulled my arm out of Tamaki's grasp, turned around, and walked straight out, never to see the Host Club again. Or at least that was my intent. Instead, I walked straight into a very expensive-looking vase, knocking it off its pedestal. I reached out to grab it before it fell, but it was just out of reach, and – _crash!_

Now, of course, I had the Host Club's full attention. The red-headed twins sighed and shook their heads, _tsk-_ing in unison.

"I-I can pay for it!" I exclaimed.

"That vase was about to be auctioned off at 8 million yen," the twins informed me with matching devious expressions. "You can't even afford a uniform."

"My my, this is unfortunate," said the black-haired boy with the attitude of someone who didn't find it unfortunate at all. "Tamaki, what should we do?"

"Kyoya, are you familiar with the term, 'when in Rome, do as the Romans'? Boushi," he addressed me, "from this day forward, until you can pay off your 8 million yen debt, you are to be the Host Club's slave!" he decided, a maniacal grin on his face.

"WHAT? You're insane! All of you!" I cried, my voice reaching a pitch that made Kyoya raise an eyebrow. I got the feeling that maybe not everyone in the Host Club was as stupid as I assumed.

"You can refuse, of course," he said politely, "but my family's private police force is quite large. I assume you have a passport?"

"I…I…I…" I stuttered. There was no getting around it. I collapsed, mentally exhausted. A short blond guy came up and poked me.

"Is he dead?" he wondered, wide-eyed.

"No, no, Hunny-sempai, he's just very out of shape. That happens to the common folk," Tamaki answered. I moaned. This was going to be a long three years.

**A/N: 6/4/12 - Yep, I added a cover! Haha but I'm hoping a friend of mine can make something non-suckish. If not, well, trust me...it's better for everyone if we leave it as a boring MS Paint masterpiece. I don't want to expose you to my pathetic art skils...**


	2. How I Became a Crossdresser

**A/N: It occurs to me that if I had started earlier and/or written faster, I could've whipped out an awesome Halloween episode/chapter thingy…oh well. Enjoy!**

When I woke up the next morning, I was really hoping my encounter with the Host Club had just been a bad dream. Then I put my glasses on, looked over on my nightstand, and saw the grocery list Tamaki had written for me. Sighing, I supposed I might as well pick their junk up on the way to school, so I got up and got dressed, putting on whatever happened to be in my way. Running a brush through my strawberry blond hair and grabbing my backpack, I headed out.

Thanks to the ridiculous list of items I had to pick up – who ate _that_ much cake? – I was nearly late for my first class. Ducking in just before the bell rang, I took my seat between Hikaru and Kaoru, the red-headed twins from the Host Club. They had taken a liking to me, or rather, had taken a liking to annoying me. It was surround sound pestering, all day long. I would've been thankful when the final bell rang, but that just meant I had to go do whatever being the Host Club's slave entailed.

When I walked into Music Room 3, I wasn't really sure what to expect. Maybe a few girls hanging around, talking or having a snack with the Host Club. Definitely not what looked like half the student body fawning over six guys dressed in doublets and tights. But Music Room 3 is obviously an alternate dimension, because that's what I saw.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ I wondered despairingly. Throughout the room, chairs and couches were arranged in circles around coffee tables. Off to one side, the largest group of girls was crowded around Tamaki, squeezing into every available space.

"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and you are my sun." Tamaki recited softy to the girl sitting next to him, sending the entire assembly into a fit of squealing.

"Does that really work on girls?" I asked no one in particular.

"Actually, yes."

I jumped, nearly dropping my grocery bag. Kyoya was standing next to me, in a dark blue doublet with matching hose.

"Tamaki is the most popular with our customers; he has a 70% request rate."

"You mean 7 out of 10 girls request _him_?" I asked in disbelief. Dressed in a gaudy purple outfit, complete with one of those giant flouncy neckpieces, Tamaki looked absolutely absurd.

"Yes, he is the Host Club's king."

"King. Right. Um, what should I do with these groceries?" I asked, holding up the shopping bag. Suddenly, a small flying object swept in and yanked the bag from my grasp.

"Yaaaaay! Cake! Cake! Cake!"

The small flying object was actually Hunny, the short blond host. I still couldn't believe he was a third year; he looked and acted like an elementary student. In sharp contrast, Mori, who was always by Hunny's side, was tall, dark, and silent, and while Hunny wore a lively pink outfit to match his stuffed rabbit, Mori was clothed all in black.

Finally, we had the Hikaru and Kaoru, garbed in identical green costumes. I know they're twins and all, but they seemed to be getting _way_ too familiar, and their audience of girls seemed to like it _way_ too much. These people were insane.

"Ah, Boushi!" Tamaki got up and was headed my way, much to the disappointment of his crowd of girls. "So, what do you think? Is the Host Club not the most amazing…" He was blathering on again, and in his infinite density, he didn't even notice that he had knocked my glasses off while he was waving his arms about wildly. Bending over to pick them up, I groaned. The glass had cracked on both lenses, they were useless now.

"Great, look what you did." I complained, breaking into Tamaki's tirade.

"Oh, terribly sorry, I-" He broke off, staring into my eyes, greatly disconcerting me. He snapped his fingers and had the entire Host Club's attention. Before I even knew what was going on, I was being shoved into a changing room with a boy's uniform, getting my hair done, and having contact lenses forcibly shoved into my eyes. When the process was over, Tamaki shoved me in front of a mirror, looking quite proud of himself for someone who simply knocked my glasses off and snapped his fingers.

"Well?" He asked.

I was torn. On the one hand, I looked really good. On the other hand, I looked really good – for a guy.

"Um, this is great and all, but I've told you guys I can't afford a uniform…"

"The uniform is on me – after all, you can't be a host looking like you did before." Tamaki reassured me. It took a moment for this to sink in.

"Wait…me? A host?" I asked, bewildered. Surely he couldn't be serious?

"It's decided. In order to pay off your debt, you are now the Host Club's newest member!" Tamaki cried excitedly. "Your…initiation will be tonight."

"Tamaki, aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?" Kyoya asked pointedly.

"No, I can smell him." Mori said simply. Those were the first words I'd heard Mori say…that he could smell me. But apparently this made perfect sense to the rest of the Host Club, because they all nodded and looked at me with new interest.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just hold your horses here. There's no way I'm taking any part in this stupid club of yours. I'll run your errands, clean stuff, whatever, just don't make me do this." I begged in vain.

"Ah, ah, ah, commoners in debt can't be choosers." Tamaki chided.

"Fine. I'll be a stupid host. It can't be that hard, if Tamaki can do it." I gave in, knowing I was fighting a losing battle. The twins burst out laughing, while Tamaki looked extremely offended.

"We like this one!" Hikaru and Kaoru agreed. "See you tonight," they said, identical smirks on their faces.

...

I didn't know why, but I agreed to meet the Host Club that night. I unlocked the back door they told me to go through with the key Kyoya had given me, and made my way to Music Room 3. Somehow, the school seemed different at night, and not just because it was dark. The air itself had a different feel to it, almost…unnatural. I shook my head as if to clear the thought. That was crazy…but then, with the Host Club, was anything too far-fetched?

Finally, I found the music room. The map the twins drew for me wasn't much help, so I got lost twice, and got there ten minutes later than we agreed on. Opening the doors, I was "greeted" by the twins.

"You're late." They announced in annoyance.

"Yeah, whatever, your map sucked." I retorted, crumpling it up and throwing it at them. They stuck out their tongues and made identical immature faces at me. "So, what's the big deal? Why am I here so late?" I asked.

"We'll get to that in a minute." Tamaki answered. Looking at him, my jaw dropped. Everyone else had changed out of their uniforms and into casual clothes, but Tamaki was wearing some ridiculous robe and a wizard's hat. He was looking at me with huge, expectant eyes.

"Okay, I'll bite…what's with the get-up, sempai?" I asked slowly, not sure I wanted to know.

"I'm a mage!" He said excitedly, as if this answered everything.

"Um, I see that…but why?"

"I'm a mage!" He insisted.

"Yeah, but-" I stopped. Tamaki had this oblivious look on his face, and I could tell if I didn't end now, we could go on like this for a while. "Kyoya-sempai?" I turned to Kyoya, hoping he had a better explanation.

"He's a mage." Kyoya replied, looking like he was enjoying himself. I wanted to smack that little smile right off his face.

"Okay, fine, he's a mage. Now, can someone please tell me why we're here?"

Just then, the doors burst open with a _crash! _Shielding my face from the debris, I heard a screeching cry come from the direction of the doors.

"Hunny-sempai! Mori-sempai!" Tamaki yelled, sounding commanding and in control for once. Moving my arms so I could see, I gasped and my knees buckled. Standing in the doorway was a grotesque humanoid creature, ten feet tall with red skin, jagged claws, and a tangle of scraggly black hair growing from its head – and Hunny and Mori were charging right at it. I nearly passed out on the spot, but someone caught me. Looking up, I saw it was Tamaki.

"That's why we're here." He told me. He glanced towards the monster, and I followed his gaze. Hunny and Mori were dealing rapid blows to the…thing in the doorway, and it was bellowing angrily.

"My turn." Tamaki stood me up straight, out of his way, and rolled up his long, billowy sleeves, looking uncharacteristically serious. For just a moment, if I looked past the ridiculous costume, I could see the handsome young man all the other girls saw.

Hunny and Mori, hearing him, quickly moved away from the monster. Tamaki raised his arms and aimed his palms towards the beast. Concentrating, he murmured a few words, and suddenly, a pillar of fire shot from his hands and straight into the creature's chest. It roared in pain, stumbled around a few paces, then collapsed.

When the dust settled, I burst out incredulously, "What _was_ that?"

Kyoya whipped a small black notebook from his pocket and leafed through a few pages. " That was an akki, one of the more common monsters that lurks the school at night."

"Lurks the school at night? More common?" I was starting to piece things together. "Are you trying to tell me you do this all the time?"

"Well, duh," the twins said, "did you think we just randomly decided to hang around the school at night and a monster just happened to be here, and that Milord just happened to be dressed like a complete fool?"

"Well, of course, Milord dressing like a fool is nothing out of the ordinary." Hikaru added. Kaoru nodded in agreement.

"Hey!" Tamaki protested, but the twins carried on.

"Basically, the school is haunted, and the Host Club was formed to take care of the monsters and ghosts and stuff when they show up. If we didn't, they'd escape and wreak havoc on, well, everything. They prefer to come out at nighttime, but every now and then we get the annoying monster that wants to terrorize the school during the day, which complicates matters."

"So, what you're saying is that the whole Host Club thing is just a cover?" I asked the first of many questions that was currently tumbling around in my brain.

"Yes, and a perfect one at that," Tamaki chimed in, "because who would suspect such amazingly good-looking guys as us as being monster hunters?" He pulled a rose out of thin air and struck a ridiculous pose. I started to ask another question, but a movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention.

"Um, guys-"

"But, of course, we also greatly enjoy bringing happiness to girls, and…"

While Tamaki was rambling on, the third years noticed what was happening at the same instance I did. The supposedly dead akki was stirring, silently standing up. Before we could do anything, it had wrenched one of the double doors from its hinges and threw it straight at us.

"Look out!" I cried.

Mori and Hunny each grabbed a twin and pulled them out of harm's way, and I lunged forward and shoved Tamaki to the ground. It wasn't until it was too late for me to do anything about it that I realized I had put myself right in the path of the door, flying at me a million miles an hour.


	3. The Truth Comes Out

**A/N: Thanks for reading this far, please review! It doesn't take long to type "This is awesome!" or, "This sucks, die now!" or better yet, actual constructive criticism! So now, without further ado…please enjoy Ghost Club chapter 3!**

Instinctively, I threw my arms up in front of my body. After a few moments, something occurred to me – I wasn't a splotch on the wall. Hesitantly looking up, I let out a cry of amazement. The door was frozen in place, only inches from me. I hastily backed up, and the door crashed to the ground. Quickly, Tamaki fired another blast at the monster, reducing it to ashes.

"What…what…" I was nearly hyperventilating. Tonight had already been too much, and now this. Tamaki stood up and put his hand on my shoulder.

"That, my good man, is telekinesis. Your power," He explained.

"I…I have…powers?"

"Of course! It's destiny that you joined the Host Club," Tamaki said dramatically. I wasn't so sure about destiny, but I _was_ sure that this was insane.

"No way. This can't be happening, this is impossible," I insisted, looking around, desperately wishing someone would pop out from behind something and yell, "April Fools!"

"And yet, it just happened." Kyoya shrugged. "And as a host, it is now your duty to help us protect the school from these monsters."

"You're crazy if you think I…" I trailed off. The looks the rest of the hosts were giving me told me not to argue with Kyoya. "Okay, fine. But can someone please explain what's going on, from the beginning?"

"Well, until Tama-chan came to Ouran, Takashi and I had been fighting the monsters on our own, with just our martial arts skills," Hunny began.

"Yes, and then when I came along, Mori-sempai and Hunny-sempai found out about my powers," Tamaki interjected.

"Takashi has an amazing sense of smell," Hunny clarified. I opened my mouth to comment, but decided some things were better left alone.

"When he started high school, Tamaki founded the Host Club, gathering gifted individuals to help fight off the monsters." Kyoya continued.

"And…what does the Host Club have to do with the whole demon-killing thing? Is this stupid club really necessary?" I asked. Five blank stares and Kyoya's amused face answered me. I sighed. Just as I had suspected, the Host Club wasn't a cover for anything but Tamaki's complacency. "Carry on."

"Well, that's about it," Hikaru and Kaoru said. "We've been battling these things for a while, and now you're gonna help us."

"That's it? Where do they come from?" I persisted.

The twins looked at each other, shrugged, then looked back at me. "We don't really know."

"Seriously? How can you guys be so casual about this? Shouldn't you be more worried about finding out why the school is haunted, and how you can…un-haunt it?"

"Don't be stupid," admonished Hikaru.

"Yeah, do you really think we haven't tried to figure out what's going on? Monsters just show up with no rhyme or reason." Kaoru said. "We don't know why, or how to stop them, so we just keep fighting."

"So you're all just up here all night, every night, fighting monsters?" I asked.

"Don't be silly," Hunny giggled, "Bun-Bun lets us know when there are bad guys around!" He held up his pink stuffed rabbit with an innocent smile that matched Bun-Bun's. I stared at him.

"O…kay…of course it does. Why not? It's not any crazier than anything else that's happened tonight." I threw my hands up and paced back and forth, ranting. "This is just my luck! I get accepted into this great school, and I get roped into fighting monsters and being a 'host.'" I made air quotes around the word.

"Not luck. Fate." Tamaki corrected.

"Fate shmate!" I yelled. "What do you know? You can't even tell I'm a girl!"

A strange look crossed Tamaki's face, and I felt oddly satisfied.

"A girl? Since when?" He demanded.

"I dunno, since always? What kind of a question is that?"

Tamaki pointed an accusing finger at me. "But you…you're-"

"I can promise you, no matter how you finish that sentence, you'll be wishing I hadn't saved you from being clobbered by that monster," I growled. I wasn't in any mood to have my femininity debated. Tamaki gulped. Meanwhile, the twins were cracking themselves up, clutching their chests and leaning on each other for support. Even Mori looked somewhat amused.

"Okay, you're a girl." Always quick to bounce back, he added, "But this doesn't change anything! You're still a host, and as long as you are, it is your solemn duty to protect the school from the demons within!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I have to pretend to be a guy, flirt with other girls, and beat up monsters. Drama queen." I rolled my eyes. "Can I go home now?"

Hunny spoke up. "Yeah, Bun-Bun says it's safe now. We can all go home."

Bun-Bun said so, huh? Well then, it must be true.

"I'll have to get someone in here tomorrow morning to fix that door," Kyoya remarked, scribbling something in his notebook. It must cost a fortune just to keep this place from collapsing every night.

Watching as the hosts filed out of the room, I wondered what was so special about Kyoya and the twins. Maybe even demons were scared of Kyoya. And as for Hikaru and Kaoru, the only talents they seemed to posses were super harassment powers.

"Do you need an escort home, Boushi?" Tamaki was the only one who bothered to wait up for me; maybe he was trying to make up for thinking I was a boy.

"No thanks, I'll be fine," I said. When he looked unsure, I added, "Go on without me. I'm a big girl."

Blushing a little, Tamaki said, "Okay, good night," and left. Not really paying attention to him anymore, I muttered something that might have been good night, and focused on the door laying a couple feet away.

"Telekinesis, huh?" I murmured. I pointed my hands at the door, palms facing outward like I'd seen Tamaki do when he had summoned those fireballs.

_All right…um…go up!_ I thought, concentrating as hard as I could. I felt like I really was trying to pick up a giant wooden door. A bead of sweat trickled down my face, but after a few long moments, the door rose a few inches in the air.

I laughed out loud in triumph, and my concentration was broken; the door clattered to the ground. Wiping my forehead with the back of my hand, I grinned. I would die before admitting this to any of the other hosts, especially Tamaki, but maybe not everything about being in the Host Club was going to suck.


	4. I'm Too Handsome For My Own Good

Thanks to the Host Club, I was nearly late to class for the second day in a row. After last night, I was completely exhausted, and slept straight through my alarm. Having had to skip breakfast, my stomach was growling conspicuously all morning. Up until today, I had always eaten lunch by myself in the classroom, but Hikaru and Kaoru practically dragged me to the cafeteria to eat with them. For a few minutes, it seemed like a normal school lunch (aside from the 5-star chefs, palatial accommodations, and orchestra music coming from speakers somewhere). Then the fangirls showed up.

Before we were mobbed by a dozen teenage girls, Hikaru and Kaoru had been sitting on either side of me, asking prying questions about my personal life and what it was like to be a "commoner." Then suddenly, when the girls came over, Hikaru jumped up and squeezed himself into the small space between me and Kaoru, draping his arm over his brother's shoulder.

"Hello, ladies!" They said in unison, flashing identical smiles at the crowd, who responded with a chorus of hellos, good afternoons, and general squealing. Ignoring them, I moved down a little bit and tried to eat my sandwich, modest compared to even the school lunches, in peace. My plan was going great, until the girls noticed me.

"Oooh, Hikaru, Kaoru, who's your friend?" Asked one of the girls.

"This is Boushi Aizawa," Hikaru began introducing me. He clapped me on the back, causing me to nearly choke on my sandwich.

"The newest member of the Host Club," Kaoru finished, drawing oohs and ahhs from the girls. I looked up at them and waved, still trying to swallow my food.

"He's so handsome!" Whispered someone near the back of the group, causing the entire mob to burst into giggles. I wiped my mouth with my napkin, hiding my grimace. At least if I was going to spend the next three years of my life as a boy, I was a handsome one. Yipee.

"Thank you. Um, I'll be glad to meet all of you at the club later." I said, hoping they'd catch my drift and let me eat. Note to self: subtle hints don't work on these girls. They all started giggling again and sat down at our table. Was the Host Club not enough for them?

Casting my gaze around the lunchroom, I noticed that all the hosts seemed to be sitting at tables full of girls, and of course, Tamaki's table was the most crowded. Sighing, I resigned myself to the fact that lunch wasn't going to be a peaceful affair today, and possibly never would be again.

…

"What's it like, being a commoner?"

"Why did you decide to come to Ouran?"

"Is it true you can't even afford to grind your own coffee?"

It was my first official day of being a host (thank goodness we weren't wearing any ridiculous costumes today), and I had been requested by three curious girls, all from my class. A polite smile frozen on my face, I decided to start with the least insulting of their questions.

"Well, I'd gone to public elementary and middle schools, but when I heard about Ouran's scholarship program, I decided to go for it, because I'd heard about their great university," I answered.

"What do you want to study?" Asked the girl with cat-ear shaped buns on her head.

"I'm actually hoping to go into…fashion design…" I trailed off, realizing the irony in this for the first time as I said it aloud. Right on cue, the twins, who were with some guests nearby, turned my direction and started laughing.

"You? Fashion?" They managed between hyena laughs. "You spent the first week of school wearing your dad's old sweaters!"

I flushed. "Hey, I couldn't afford a uniform, and you know that! Besides…I have an eye for fashion, but I can't afford fancy clothes, and I don't really know what looks good on me, so I don't bother." I shrugged, embarrassed. Fortunately, this worked to my benefit somehow, because the girls at my table all looked at me with huge eyes and squealed, "That's so cute!"

"You can come over to our place sometime, we'll help you out with that." The twins said, evil grins on their faces. I was about to tell them off, when suddenly, Tamaki appeared behind me.

"I won't allow it! Whatever you doppelgangers have planned, it can't be good!" Tamaki cried.

"Tamaki-sempai, last time I checked, you weren't in charge of my life," I sighed. "Now, don't you have guests waiting for you over there?"

"But – but – but–" Tamaki stuttered.

"Just go. And besides, it's not like I'm actually planning on going over to their house and be their personal dress-up doll. You can be sure of that," I added, glaring at the twins.

"We'll see," They said mischievously before going back to their customers. Tamaki looked like he was going to stay and keep chewing the twins out, so I shoved him back towards his couch.

"Sorry about that, girls." I apologized.

"Oh, that's all right. Master Tamaki can be quite a handful sometimes," giggled the cat-hair girl.

_That's one way to put it. _I thought.

"But enough about Tamaki, we want to know about you, Boushi!" Insisted a girl with short hair.

"Um, well, there's not much to tell. I live with my father, who works for a company that makes fabric. My mother taught me to sew and read patterns when I was young, but I don't make much for myself."

I had quite a knack for sewing, but we couldn't afford a decent sewing machine, or the amount of quality fabric it took to make nice clothes. Mostly I got fabric when Dad brought home bolts with defects, so it was pretty much hit or miss whether I got anything good. I'd made some pretty good garments over the years, but nothing like the designs I dreamed of.

"And what does your mother do?" Asked the third girl, a blond. I blinked slowly and tried to keep my smile from slipping. These rich people were clueless.

"She was a seamstress, but she died when I was five," I said evenly.

"Oh. I'm sorry," The blond said quietly. I shrugged.

"I try not to live in the past. What matters is that she lived a complete, happy life, and that the time we had together was great. The best thing I can do is live the life she gave me to its fullest." It was true. I loved my mother dearly, but spending the rest of my life in mourning wouldn't do anyone any good, least of all her.

"That's so beautiful!" The girls said, wiping their eyes. I didn't know about beautiful, but hey, it looked like these girls were taking a liking to me. I quickly changed the subject, not wanting to depress potential return customers. After all, I only had about 7,999,999 yen left to pay off…


	5. Cosplayers are Crazy

After my first day hosting, the last thing I wanted to do was traipse back up to school that night to kill demons. So, of course, that's exactly what I had to do. Just after dinner, the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Boushi?" Tamaki's voice came from the receiver. I groaned.

"Sempai, how did you get my number?"

"Kyoya, of course. Anyway, get back up to school as soon as possible! Hunny-sempai just informed me that trouble's stirring." Tamaki said. I made a metal note to kick Kyoya.

"Okay, fine. I'll be there when I can. See you in a few." I hung up, ignoring whatever Tamaki was trying to tell me.

"Dad, I'm going out. Club stuff. Be back later," I said, heading for the door.

"Hold on!" He ordered. "What kind of 'club stuff' do you have this late?" He asked suspiciously. I hesitated. I hadn't exactly told my dad what kind of club I had joined, and I definitely wasn't going to tell him what the Host Club did when they – we – weren't hosting.

"Well…we have to get ready for tomorrow." It was kind of the truth. We had to make sure Ouran Academy would be around to see tomorrow.

"Hmm. Be home by nine." To my surprise, he left it at that, watching me leave with a knowing expression. I wondered why he still hadn't inquired as to what kind of club I was involved with, or pushed harder to find out what I was really doing so late.

Shrugging, I climbed down the stairs to the bottom of our apartment complex and hopped on my bike. The sooner I got to school, the sooner I could be over with this.

…

I arrived at the same time as the twins. Even when they were going to school in the middle of the night for secret demon hunting, rich people travelled in style – Hikaru and Kaoru had their limo driver drop them off at the back entrance.

"Real discreet, guys," I said in greeting.

"This coming from the fifteen year old "boy" with streamers on his bike handles," Hikaru retorted. I scowled. I hadn't seen any reason to waste money on a new bike to get to school when my old one from when I was ten still worked just fine. But I had to admit, if I was going to be a guy for the rest of high school, maybe it would be best to ditch the tassels.

We met up with the rest of the hosts in Music Room 3.

"So, what is it tonight? Vampire? Ghost? Let's get this over with." I still didn't get why we all had to be here every time one of these creatures showed up. Hikaru, Kaoru, and Kyoya had done nothing but stand around and watch last time.

"Bun-Bun can tell when baddies show up, but he usually can't tell what they are," Hunny said.

"Well, what good is he–" I broke off when the ground suddenly started to shake, and an crazy-sounding laugh started echoing off the walls.

"Ohhhohohoho!"

I took what I hoped was a defensive stance. Whatever this demon was, it already sounded formidable. However, I noticed that the rest of the Host Club looked bored and annoyed, rather than ready for a fight.

"What is it? Is there something I should know?" I asked, relaxing slightly. My question was answered for me when a platform rose from the ground, atop which was a girl, the source of the laughter.

"Boushi Aizawa, meet Renge Hoshakuji, our…manager." Tamaki gestured towards the girl with one hand, hiding his exasperated face with the other. The girl, Renge, hopped off her platform, which sank back into the ground with another rumble. Curiously, she was still wearing her school uniform, but not our school uniform – it was sailor suit style, with a blue skirt (which was rather skimpy, if you ask me) and collar. Her hair was up in two buns on either side of her head.

"Nice to meet you, Hoshakuji-san," I said, wondering if that would prove to be true. "What school do you go to?" I asked, nodding toward her uniform. Renge laughed. I knew I was going to get really tired with that laugh really fast.

"You can call me Renge. And I go to Ouran, this is just a costume – I'm the champion of love and justice!" She struck a pose. The so-called manager of the Host Club was apparently a deranged cosplayer.

"Right. So, um, nice to meet you and all, but should we really be all standing around when something's on the loose somewhere?"

Renge, of course, ignored me.

"All right, men, I have a hypothesis about why the school is haunted!" She declared. The twins rolled their eyes.

"Another one?" They asked.

"I really think I'm on to something this time! I did some research, and I'm thinking…Ouran was built on the hellmouth!"

We all stared at her.

"Renge, I think you may be confusing your fandoms here," Kyoya said patiently.

"No, no, think about it! All these evil beings showing up with no explanation, a rag-tag group of high schoolers banding together to fight them – it all fits!" Renge explained, like it would make perfect sense now.

Before anyone could point out any of the obvious flaws in her "logic," a screech cut through the air. We ran out into the hallway and saw what looked like a woman, clad in a wedding kimono, screaming bloody murder. Noticing us, she began to glide our way at an alarming speed.

"_Gyaaaaaaaaaah_!" She cried. As she approached, a chill ran down my spine – aside from her gaping mouth, the woman had no face. Her stringy black hair was falling out of the traditional-style bun on her head, framing the pasty white skin where her eyes and nose should have been.

"I've got this!" Renge shouted, running at the woman.

"Renge, no!" Tamaki yelled, but Renge was pulling out some kind of wand and pointing it at the woman.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" Renge hollered. Unsurprisingly, this had no effect on the woman, who grabbed Renge around the waist and continued flying down the hall without breaking her stride – if you could call it that when her feet didn't touch the ground – or pausing her shrieking.

"Heeeeelp!" Renge screamed, both her voice and the woman's fading quickly as they got farther away.

"That was a demon known as a _bettari_." Kyoya said. "We'll split up, and try to corner it."

"We'll go with Boushi!" The twins said in unison, and dragged me down the hallway the _bettari_ had taken Renge down.

"Care to explain what just happened with that chick?" I panted, running full speed down the hall, following the faint screams of Renge and the she-demon.

"Renge's crazy," Hikaru said bluntly.

"She came over from France because she was in love with a video game character that looks like Kyoya. She kept meddling in our business, and when she found out the Host Club's secret, she appointed herself our manager," Kaoru said.

"The only thing she really manages is to get in trouble, and she's convinced that she's helping us with the power of cosplay." Hikaru pointed his index finger at his temple and twirled it in circles.

"Kyoya, heeelp!" We heard Renge's voice nearby, and turned down a nearby corridor. The screaming demon was clutching her tightly, backed against a dead end by Kyoya and Tamaki. We came to a halt just as Kyoya stepped toward the _bettari_.

"I'm afraid this is it for you, ma'am," Kyoya said calmly, adjusting his glasses, which started to glow unnaturally. He folded his hands near his face, index fingers pointing up, and his hair and clothes began to whip around as if by the wind, though the air was still.

He said something in a language I didn't understand, and the demon screeched even louder before vaporizing on the spot.

"Oh, Kyoya, you're simply amazing!" Renge squealed, hugging him.

"What just happened?" I cried.

"I'm an exorcist," Kyoya said simply. He smiled, always a scary sight.

"Of course you are," I said, dazed. The Host Club never ceased to amaze me, one way or another. I wondered again what powers might be hidden behind the twin's mischievous exteriors, but that would have to be a discovery for another night.


	6. Boy's Bathrooms Scare Me

One of many problems with having to pretend to be a boy was that moment of panic I always felt when I had to go to the bathroom at school. No matter how long I was a host, I didn't think I would ever be able to just waltz into the men's room like I was, well, a man. At the moment, however, I had nothing to worry about. I had been excused from math to use the restroom, so everyone else was still in class.

A few days had passed without incident since the night I'd met Renge and Kyoya had killed the _bettari_, so I guess I had let my guard down. Opening the door, I was completely unprepared for the ugly…thing hunched over in the corner, licking the floor.

I gasped. Hearing me, it turned around. It was even uglier from the front. It looked almost human, but it was about three feet tall and its skin was sickly green. A single tuft of unruly black hair sprouted from the top of its head, and it watched me with wild eyes. It hissed, and spittle went flying, burning holes through whatever it touched.

"Sorry to disturb you, I'll be leaving now!" I yelped, and ran out the bathroom door. Slamming it shut behind me, I took off for my classroom. I heard the creature screech and crash into the door. It wouldn't be long before it escaped and came after me.

Finally, I made it to room 1-A. I burst through the door and everyone turned to stare at me.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, I can't find the bathroom. Come help me," I said, putting emphasis on the "come help me" part. I could hear the monster's long, dirty toenails scrabbling on the floor, getting closer way too fast.

The twins exchanged glances, then got up.

"Sure, we're coming," they said. When they were out in the hallway and I closed the door, they asked, "What's up?"

"That!" I yelled, pointing at the monster, which was running on all fours at us, its long tongue dangling from its mouth, dripping acidic saliva. Before we could do anything, it leapt up and lunged for Hikaru.

"I don't think so!" He shouted, kicking it in the chest, sending it flying backward. It let out an annoyed cry, but sprang back up, eyeing us hungrily.

I raised my arm, pointed it at a heavy-looking pedestal, and attempted to sweep it across the hall and into the monster. Instead, the pedestal wobbled feebly and fell over, causing the vase that rested on it to fall over and crack.

"What do you have against vases?" Kaoru asked.

"This is no time for wisecracks," I warned. The green thing had been momentarily distracted by the crashing sound, but now it had regained its focus and was charging at us again. This time, I was the lucky one it decided to attack. Thinking I was so clever, I kicked it like Hikaru had, but rather than sending it across the hall, my foot just provided it with a handy way to leap onto my face.

I toppled backward with a rather unmanly "yeek!" The creature made a raspy sound that could have been a laugh, and leaned in for my face. Summing up all my strength, I shoved as hard as I could, and the little beast flew up, smashed into the ceiling, dropped to the floor, and didn't move.

"Is it dead?" I asked warily, sitting up and wincing as I wiped stinging saliva from my face. Before we could make sure, the third year hosts dashed down the hallway.

"Bun-Bun sensed a monster, we came as fast as we could!" Hunny said.

"Thanks, but I think it's a little late to help now," I said, pointing to the motionless green thing. Hunny and Mori looked at it, then Hunny noticed my face.

"Bou-chan, you're hurt!" He gasped, pointing. I touched my face, which still stung. A quick glance in one of many mirrors that hung in the hall (man, were rich people that superficial?) told me there was a raw spot on my cheek.

"Yeah, I'm still not too great at the whole monster-fighting thing. The little turd got me."

"Well, we can't have that happen anymore. Takashi and I can teach you martial arts," Hunny offered.

"Really?" I thought about it for a moment. Knowing how to fight would probably make my life a lot easier. "That's a good idea, thanks Sempai," I said.

"And your telekinesis sucks," Hikaru chimed in.

"Yeah, you can never do anything useful unless something's about to kill you," Kaoru pointed out.

"Thank you, peanut gallery. At least I'm trying, which is more than I can say for you. Do you two even have powers?" I asked.

"We do. It's just too much trouble to use them," they answered, shrugging.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course it is. It's good that I managed to get that thing off me, because it probably would've been too much trouble to stop it from melting my face off."

Before the twins could retort, Hunny stepped in. "Tama-chan could give you some pointers to help you get better at using your telekinesis."

"Tamaki-sempai? But he's a mage; or does he have more powers I don't know about?"

"Well, no, but his magic is closer to your telekinesis than any of our powers, so he's probably the best one to teach you."

I sighed. "If you think it'll help."

"Then it's settled! Tomorrow, after Host Club, will be your first martial arts-slash-telekinesis lesson," Hunny announced.

"And you two aren't invited, I don't need an audience," I told the twins firmly.

"You're no fun," they pouted.

Just then, the classroom door opened. Hunny and Mori quickly stepped in front of the monster, blocking it from view.

"I can hear you from inside the classroom, what are you doing just standing there?" Our teacher asked. Noticing Hunny and Mori, he added, "Haninozuka, Morinozuka, you're third years, what are you doing down here?"

"Um, well, we –" I racked my brain, trying to come up with an excuse, but Mori took care of it.

"The first years got lost coming back from the bathroom. We ran into them so we showed them the way," he said. It was a lame excuse, but our teacher nodded. I think people only listen to Mori because he never says anything.

"All right. Well, you two better get back to class. Hitachiins, Aizawa, come on," he instructed, heading back into class.

"We'll take care of this," Hunny assured us, as Mori picked up the monster. They headed off for their classroom, and we went back into ours. I took my seat, ignoring the odd looks I was getting for the wound on my face. Tomorrow, I'd start learning how to fight, physically and with my powers. For once, I was actually looking forward to Host Club.


	7. Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting

"Good-bye, girls. Have a nice evening." I waved good-bye to my guests as the Host Club wrapped up for the day. As the doors shut on the last girl, I was running around like a madman, tidying up with way more enthusiasm than my normal begrudging attitude.

"Ah, Boushi, good to see you're finally starting to get into the Host Club!" Tamaki noted.

"Nah, I'm just ready to start learning to kick butt. And if you're not sticking around to teach me," I added, glaring at the twins, "you can leave. Now."

Kyoya, indifferent, was already halfway out the door. "Good luck," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Hikaru and Kaoru stuck their tongues out at me. "Fine. Good luck," they said mischievously as they left. It was a bit disconcerting, the way everyone was wishing me good luck like that, like they knew something I didn't.

"All right, Hunny-sempai, what first?" I asked when it was just me and my three upperclassmen.

"Well, first, during your lessons, it's Hunny-_sensei_. Got that?" Hunny asked me seriously.

"Uh, sure…Sensei." It was hard to call Hunny "Sensei" with a straight face while he was holding a stuffed rabbit and had icing smeared on his nose.

"Good. First things first, you need to learn the basic stances," he said, setting Bun-Bun on a nearby chair.

"Stances?" I questioned.

"Mm-hmm. Front stance, back stance, sitting stance," he listed, demonstrating each one as he went. "There are more, depending on the specific martial art, but we'll just cover the basics for now."

"Okay. Question. I'm supposed to be learning how to beat up monsters, not spar. While I'm busy getting into whatever stance, couldn't a demon just come up and eat me or something? Can we just skip straight to punches and kicks and stuff?"

"Have you ever tried using an outside crescent kick while just standing around like you are now?" Hunny asked, giggling. "You'd fall right over, silly."

I'd never even heard of an outside crescent kick, but I guessed that was probably beside the point. Shrugging, I said, "Okay, well, you're the sensei. Let's do this."

A look that was way too maniacal for someone so cute entered Hunny's eyes, and Tamaki plopped himself onto a couch, looking like someone getting ready to watch something incredibly amusing. I gulped, wondering, for about the millionth time since joining the Host Club – _what have I gotten myself into?_

…

Half an hour into my first lesson, I already wanted to break a sweat, and hadn't even been allowed to do anything. Hunny taught me the names of the three basic stances I'd be learning, how you distributed your weight in each stance, and the proper positioning of your arms. Once Hunny had drilled me until I could recite all that backwards, he told me I could try a front stance. I lunged forward and put my arms up in what was apparently called an inner forearm block.

"Wrong!" Hunny exclaimed, and proceeded to push me over.

"Hey! What gives?" I protested, righting myself.

"Your balance was way off, first of all. I could shove you right over."

I wanted to make a crack about how I wasn't expecting it, but I held my tongue. Hunny could probably give me ten minutes warning and still kill me with his pinky finger…with both hands tied behind his back.

"Next time, don't put your front leg so far out, and bend your back leg a little more. Secondly, you had your fingers tucked all wrong. Punch something like that, and you're gonna break your thumb."

I nodded, adjusting my fingers. "Okay. Let's try again."

And so that's how we spent the next half hour, me being repeatedly pushed over by a midget until I could effectively keep my balance and not fall over. I wouldn't have minded so much if that blond dolt hadn't been off to the side chortling to himself. Finally, when I had withstood enough pushing, Hunny let me have a five minute break, so I dashed to the bathroom. Unlike Hunny, I wasn't going to spend my time off eating candy.

Heading straight for the sink, I splashed water on my face to cool myself off. I took off my jacket and tie, which I probably should've done before starting my lesson; I sweat like I pig. Running a hand through my messier-than-usual red hair, I took a moment to catch my breath before going back to Music Room 3. Before I had the chance, the door opened and Tamaki walked in. Instinctively, I blushed.

"S-sempai! What are you doing in here?"

Tamaki raised an eyebrow. "Well, this_ is_ the men's room."

"Oh. Right." I hadn't even noticed which bathroom I had entered. Force of habit, I guess.

I was about to leave when Tamaki said, "Hey, sorry about laughing at you before. Hunny put us all through the same rigorous training when we first started, so it's funny to watch someone new do it."

"Eh, whatever," I said casually, even though it was completely humiliating. Trying to switch the focus off of me, I added, "I can imagine it was pretty funny when it was Kyoya's turn." Cool, calm Kyoya, being shoved over by someone half as tall as him. It sounded pretty hilarious to me, but a distant look crossed Tamaki's face and he shuddered.

"It scarred us all for life…" he whimpered, remembering something I probably didn't want to know.

"Well, uh, okay then. I should probably get back to Hunny," I said, leaving Tamaki alone with his apparently horrible memories.

After working on blocks for what seemed like forever, Hunny pronounced our first lesson over.

"Practice your stances at home. We'll have another session next week," Hunny instructed me. "Tama-chan, she's all yours!" Tamaki, who was lounging on the couch again (at least this time he kept his laughter to himself), got up, stretched, and walked over.

"All right, well, there's not much I can necessarily teach you. It's all about concentration. For example," he started, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully. "If I wanted to…set something on fire, I can't just say some magic words, and poof, there's fire. I have to really concentrate hard on what I'm trying to do. I would visualize it, and concentrate with everything I have on setting that object on fire."

"But wait," I interjected, "that first night, when I joined the Host Club, you did say magic words, didn't you?"

"Yes, well, I don't have to, but didn't it make me seem so much cooler?" Tamaki concentrated himself up some sparkles and struck a supermodel pose.

"Actually, admitting that just made you seem way less cool, but whatever," I said with a little shrug, ignoring the raincloud of depression my words summoned to replace Tamaki's sparkles. "So, just visualize and concentrate, huh?"

I looked around the room for a target, and settled on a nearby chair. I took a deep breath and tried to block out everything but the chair, imagining it sliding across the room, focusing everything I had on that one task. It took a few moments, but slowly, shakily, the chair moved a few inches to the right.

"It worked!" I exclaimed excitedly, before hobbling over and collapsing into the chair I had moved; now I was mentally exhausted in addition to already being physically exhausted.

"Good job!" Tamaki congratulated me. "Keep practicing, it'll get easier with time. Like I said, there's not much I can actually teach you, so you're pretty much on your own." He looked at the grandfather clock and added, "It's getting late, we should head home now."

"You go on, I'm just gonna rest for a little bit. See you guys tomorrow," I said, waving at Tamaki, Hunny, and Mori (He didn't actually do anything today, but I guess he and Hunny were joined at the hip) with one hand, wiping my brow with the other.

I might've actually fallen asleep in that chair for a little while; it somehow managed to be more comfortable than pretty much all the furniture in my apartment.

As I rode my bike home, I was happily thinking how lucky I was nothing had killed me in my sleep. Well, either I jinxed myself or had used up all my good luck for the day, because when I glanced up to see what had suddenly cast that huge shadow on me, I saw an impossibly giant bird, talons outstretched, descending upon me with a fearsome screech.

**A/N: You wouldn't know it by looking at me, but I'm actually a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, albeit a very out of practice one. Actually knowing what I was talking about really came in handy when I was writing this chapter. It's good to know all the money and years of training paid off. ^^' Anyway, see that little link down there that says "write a review"? Click on it and let me know what you think so far! I'd be much obliged!**


	8. The Plot Thickens

My instinct told me to scream. Logic told me to jump off the bike and run for it. I compromised, toppling clumsily off my bike and letting out a scream that turned into a pained grunt when I hit the ground.

The bird missed me, swooping low where I had just been. Cawing angrily, it landed on my bike and glared down at me.

It was about Hunny's size (and had a wingspan as wide as Mori was tall), but somehow elegant for such a large bird. Its feathers, radiant shades of gold and red, gleamed in the light of the setting sun. From what I knew about mythological creatures, I guessed that the thing about to eat me was a phoenix. It was a shame, really, that such a beautiful creature was apparently evil and/or carnivorous.

The phoenix screeched again, and lifted one large, sharp set of claws. I had a split second to choose between fight, flight, or death. Just before the great bird's piercing talons sliced clean through me, I rolled out of the way, and sprang up into a back stance.

"Uh…" I realized I had no idea what to do from there. "You've got rotten timing, you know that? Couldn't you have waited to attack me until after I'd learned something useful?" I asked the phoenix, dodging again as it swiped at me, making an annoyed growling sound in its throat.

I knew I couldn't keep this up. The phoenix was huge, fast, and its claws were the size of butcher knives. It would get me eventually. I could run, but there was no way I was fast enough. I somehow doubted I could beat this thing up with my amazing, non-existent martial arts skills. There was only one thing to do – find something big enough, and hope I'd be able to lift it and use it to bludgeon the crap out of the phoenix.

Unfortunately, while I was debating my options, I had let my guard down, and almost didn't notice the talons whooshing through the air towards my face. I stepped back and raised my arm (I used an upper forearm block, happy, Hunny-"sensei"?) to protect myself, however feebly. I narrowly avoided getting my face chopped in half, but the phoenix's claws ripped through my left arm, leaving four deep, long gashes.

I stumbled backward, clutching my arm and biting back a cry of pain. If I didn't take care of this thing soon, it'd tear me to pieces. Starting to feel woozy at the sight of my own blood, I raised my intact arm and pointed it at my bike, concentrating while I still could on smashing it into the giant bird.

It wasn't much, but I managed to distract the phoenix by knocking it over the head with my bike. While it looked around to find the source of the bump, I stumbled off and threw myself under someone's car, curling into the fetal position and hoping that the man-eating bird wouldn't find me. I could hear it squawk in frustration, then the flapping of its wings as it flew up, looking for its prey from above. I realized that even if the phoenix didn't find me, I probably wouldn't last long if I just laid around bleeding.

I could still hear the phoenix flying around outside, so the best I could do was pull off my tie and wrap it tightly around my arm. I lost track of how long I was hiding, but by the time I decided I hadn't heard anything in a long enough time that it was safe to come out, the sun had set.

Ignoring my bike, which had taken quite a beating anyway, I ran the rest of the way home. I must have been too panicked to think straight, because the first thing I did was go straight to the phone, look through the call log, and hit redial on Tamaki's number.

"Come on, come on, pick up!" I muttered impatiently.

"Hello?" Tamaki's voice finally answered.

"Tamaki-sempai, I was on my way home, and this giant bird, I think it was a phoenix, just came out of nowhere and tried to kill me!" I said in a rush.

"Wait, what? A monster attacked you on your way home? Are you okay?" Tamaki asked.

"Um." I hesitated, looking at my bloody arm. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"That's good," Tamaki said. "But this isn't right. Monsters have never appeared outside of school before. So why now?"

"Hey…what if it's not the school that's haunted?" A thought occurred to me. "What if someone's out to get Oraun Academy, or even the Host Club?" It seemed logical. I mean, if I were evil and could control legions of demons, undead, and the like, I would definitely go after the Host Club first. But that's just me.

"What? Preposterous. Who could hold a grudge against such good-looking guys as us?"

Gee, I don't know, anyone who's not a teenage fangirl?

"Whatever. Just think about it," I said, getting ready to hang up.

"Oh, and before I forget – Boushi, I really think you should get a cell phone," Tamaki told me.

"Sempai, I've told you before, they're too expensive, and I don't need one," I sighed.

"Yes you do," Tamaki countered. "What if another monster were to go after you when you were alone? You need to be able to call one of us if you need help."

I had to admit, that did make a little sense.

"And don't worry about the cost, it'll be on the Host Club," he added.

"Well…okay, fine. I probably can't talk you out of it anyway," I agreed reluctantly.

"I'll pick one up on the way to school tomorrow and program our numbers into it," Tamaki decided.

"Great. All right, bye, Sempai." Before Tamaki could offer to buy me anything else I didn't want, I hung up and moved on to more pressing matters. My entire uniform, save my pants, was covered in blood, and my jacket and dress shirt were both ripped on the left sleeve. I could probably patch up the rips, but what was I going to do about the bloodstains? Gingerly unwrapping my arm, I cringed. The bleeding had stopped, but my arm looked and felt like crap.

Changing into something more comfortable and less bloody, I headed to the bathroom. I soaked a rag in rubbing alcohol and cleaned my wounds, wincing at the sting. I found some bandages and tightly wrapped up my arm. My patch up job was more or less acceptable, so I grabbed my uniform and inspected it more closely.

I was at a loss at how to remove the large, ugly, gross stains from my clothes. I could probably get it dry-cleaned, but I'd have to make sure Dad didn't find out. And as for the rips, well, I'd cross that bridge when I came to it. Maybe I'd luck into some fabric that matched. Even if I had to buy new fabric, it'd be way cheaper than buying a new uniform, and I didn't fancy having the cost tacked onto my debt.

With a sigh, I stuffed my unwearable uniform into a bag and set it by my bedroom door, making a mental note to drop it off by the cleaners on my way to school.

_Crap, how am I going to get to school? My bike's no use anymore, and I left it laying in the middle of the road somewhere anyway. If I asked Dad to drive me, I'd have to explain why I can't ride my bike. I'd ask one of the guys from the Host Club for a ride, but on such short notice, I could only ask Tamaki… _I groaned. It looked like that was my only choice.

I picked the phone back up and dialed Tamaki's number again, instructing him to pick me up at a park three blocks down from my neighborhood, and assuring him it was only because my bike was damaged beyond use.

When I finally got off the phone with Tamaki, I collapsed onto my bed even though it was only about six in the evening, completely drained from the day's events, and was instantly asleep.

**A/N: Ok, so I picked up Ouran 17 as soon as I was able to this Tuesday. It was so good! Chapter 80…amazing…Haruhi's monologue (for lack of a better term) was just awesome. And then the last page! I'm gonna explode waiting until June for vol. 18. RAWR! [/fangirlrant] Ahem. Anyway…R&R? Thanks.**


	9. Limitless Stupidity

"Good morning, Boushi!" Tamaki greeted me cheerfully, waving as his driver pulled the car to a stop by the park.

"Morning, Sempai," I returned the greeting, climbing carefully into the backseat. Just one of the leather seats probably cost more than my dad's entire car.

Tamaki turned around to face me from the passenger seat up front. He raised an eyebrow as he took in my outfit. "What happened to your uniform? Why are you wearing another one of your dad's sweaters?"

"Uh, well, my uniform's dirty. I'm going to have it cleaned after school today," I told him. It was mostly true.

"I could've loaned you something if you'd asked."

"Tamaki-sempai, you're like, 8 inches taller than me. Nothing you own would fit me."

"I guess you have a point." He shrugged and changed the subject. "Anyway, I got your phone on the way here," he said, rummaging through his bag. "Here you go." He pulled out a small black cellphone and tossed it to me. It was nothing fancy, just a simple flip phone with a camera.

"Like I said, I programmed all the Host Club members' numbers into it if you ever need any of us," he reminded me. I navigated my way to the contacts page and added Dad's number to the short list.

"Thanks. Smile," I said, pointing the camera at Tamaki.

"Huh?"

_Click._

I captured him mid-"huh", with a dopey, confused look on his face.

"I was just testing the camera. I think I captured your essence perfectly," I laughed, showing him the photo.

"Hey!" Tamaki exclaimed, grabbing for my phone.

"Let's see…set as caller ID? Yes." I clicked a button and sealed the deal, quickly slipping the phone in my pocket and out of Tamaki's reach. He stuck his tongue out at me.

"I'll get you back, just you wait," he promised.

"Yeah, sure," I said, grinning. "You know, Sempai, when you're not being a complete moron, I actually enjoy your company."

He furrowed his brow, trying to decide whether to be insulted or not. "Uh…thanks?"

Sadly, the whole not-being-a-moron thing didn't last long that day, for him or anyone else in the Host Club.

After school, and much teasing from the twins about my wardrobe for the day, it was just a normal day at the club. And by normal, of course, I mean anything but. I was sitting at my usual table with a couple of my regulars, having a nice little chat, when I discovered just how stupid the hosts can be.

"Boushi, why aren't you wearing your uniform?" Asked Aiko, a girl with long black hair she kept in a bun.

"It's just a little dirty. I'm going to have it dry cleaned today."

"It's okay, you look kind of cute in those big sweaters," Miyako, a tall girl with short brown hair, assured me with a giggle.

"Oh, um, thank you, Miyako-san. Speaking of cute, did you do something different with your hair today? I like it."

We carried on like this for a while, until a few minutes from closing, when the Host Club was disturbed by an unwanted visitor. The door slowly creaked open, and suddenly, the lights dimmed and the room grew chilly. I stood up, assuming a front stance.

"Don't worry about it, Boushi," the twins said with a sigh, getting up and walking towards the door. "It's just–"

"N-N-N-Nekozawa-sempai!" Tamaki yelped, scurrying to the back of the room as a cloaked figure entered the room.

"Muahahaha…good afternoon, Host Club," the cloaked person greeted us, pulling back his hood to reveal long, black hair framing an eerie countenance.

"Please don't curse me!" Tamaki squealed, cowering behind a couch. He was amazing – one minute, he was a charming host, the next, a whimpering baby.

"What do you want, Nekozawa?" Hikaru asked impatiently.

"I only wanted to see if you had any interest in the Black Magic Club's latest cursed item, muahaha, on sale for a limited time only," Nekozawa informed us, gesturing wildly with a weird puppet on his hand.

"Hmmm…nah," the twins said, simultaneously whipping out flashlights and shining them in Nekozawa's face. He shrieked, his hair flew off – or rather, his wig flew off, revealing hair as blond as Tamaki's – and he fainted on the spot.

"Nothing to see here," Kaoru said casually, and he and his brother rolled Nekozawa's unconscious body outside and slammed the door shut.

"And, on that note, I'm sorry, ladies, but our time for today is up," Kyoya said, to general sighs of disappointment. Aiko and Miyako bid me good-bye and left.

"Who the heck was that?" I asked when all the girls were gone.

"That was Umehito Nekozawa, president of the Black Magic Club," Kyoya told me.

Tamaki, who had finally come out from behind his couch, added, "Stay away from him, Boushi! He'll curse you if you even look at him funny!"

"Wait…this school has a black magic club?" I asked, wondering why no one had brought this up before.

"Yeah," the twins said, nodding.

"And…you said you don't know where all the monsters come from?"

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other blankly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kyoya watching me with an amused look on his face.

"What's with the non sequitur?" Tamaki asked, confirming my suspicions.

"Okay, um, one last question," I said evenly, before yelling, "JUST HOW STUPID ARE YOU GUYS?" I took a deep breath to calm myself before going on. "There's a black magic club at your school, which is constantly under attack by monsters. Have you really never put two and two together?"

The hosts just stared at me for a few seconds, and then – "Wait, I just thought of something! What if the Black Magic Club is behind all this?" Tamaki exclaimed. I wanted to punch him in the gut, but I let it slide.

"That's quite an interesting theory," Kyoya noted.

"Nekozawa-sempai does seem to have it out for me," Tamaki mused.

"Milord, you're just imagining all that. Nekozawa couldn't curse his way out of a paper bag, and besides, everything isn't about you," Hikaru and Kaoru chastised Tamaki.

"Tama-chan's ego aside, it does make sense," Hunny piped up, and Mori nodded. "The Black Magic Club could probably pull it off."

I was still in shock that it had never even occurred to them in all this time, but I didn't comment on that. The sooner we figured out who was behind this, the sooner we could put a stop to it, and the sooner I'd be free of this monster-fighting stuff.

"Do we really have any proof, though?" Kyoya asked.

"It's a black magic club, what more proof do you need?" I countered.

Before he could reply, the door burst open and Nekozawa flew in – no, not Nekozawa, just a big, black, floating cloak, which made much more sense.

"What in the – mmph!" Suddenly, the cloak flew at me and tied itself around my head. I clawed at it, but it stayed wrapped around my face, trying to smother me. Tamaki yelled something, and I felt an intense heat on my face for just a moment, then the cloak was gone.

Gasping, I asked Kyoya, "Is that good enough for you? His stupid cape just tried to kill me! Wait, what happened to it, anyway?" I looked down and saw a small pile of ashes at my feet, and when I moved my head, more fell out of my hair. The cloak had burst into flames, but why? Then I remembered Tamaki yelling, and it clicked.

"Tamaki-sempai…did you set the cloak on fire?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Did it occur to you that you could have INCINERATED MY FACE? What were you thinking?" I yelled.

Tamaki looked taken aback. "I know what I'm doing, and I _didn't_ incinerate your face, so–"

I was freaking out, imagining everything that could have gone wrong. "You guys are all idiots, and you, Sempai, are definitely the king, the king of all idiots! I can't believe you did that, what it had gotten out of control and you'd burned my face, or worse, what if–"

_Click._

Distracted, I blinked a sudden, small burst of light out of my eyes. Tamaki was holding his phone, the source of the flash, in my face.

"Did…did you just take my picture?" I asked, anger forgotten in my confusion and surprise.

"I told you I'd get you back," Tamaki said simply, showing me the picture he took. My face was red, my mouth was hanging open mid-yell, and my eyes looked just a little insane.

For a moment I was speechless, staring at Tamaki, who was looking back at me hopefully. The whole situation was so ridiculous that I couldn't help myself, I started to laugh; and Tamaki, relieved I wasn't angry anymore, joined in. The rest of the hosts were looking at us like we'd gone crazy, but I just couldn't stop laughing.

"Tamaki-sempai," I started, wiping tears of mirth from my eyes, "you may be the biggest idiot I've ever met, but you're all right, you know that?"

He grinned. "Guilty as charged! Hey, wait a minute…"

I just smirked. He was stupid, yes, but if nothing else, Tamaki was definitely good for a laugh. I guess he's not all bad.


	10. My Life, the Greek Comedy

I had known this day was coming since I first became a host, but I wasn't happy about it.

"Welcome to the Ouran High School Host Club!" I was less than enthusiastic in my greeting as the doors opened, and roses spontaneously appeared and floated about the room. I tugged nervously at my toga - yeah, that's right, my toga - wishing I could disappear as the girls filed into the room.

Today was my first cosplay day in the Host Club; Tamaki had had the brilliant idea to dress up as characters from Greek mythology. When he had first pitched the plan last week as we were getting ready to go home, I did a mental double take.

"Greek mythology? Why? Since when are girls attracted to guys in togas?" I asked.

"Boushi, Boushi, Boushi." Tamaki shook his head, _tsk_-ing as if I had said something incredibly stupid. "The Host Club is about more than just how incredibly handsome we all are."

"Of course," I agreed, rolling my eyes. He didn't catch the sarcasm.

"We also aim to provide our customers with a unique cultural experience at every possible opportunity, for their enjoyment and so as to broaden their horizons and let them try new things from the comfort of Music Room 3," Tamaki explained, nodding sagely. "Of course," he added, "it's not as if they can't afford to travel to Greece, or any other exotic location. It's just much more fun this way!" He finished, laughing annoyingly.

"And...you like to dress up," I pointed out. Tamaki just smiled at me cluelessly. Sighing, I resigned myself to the fact that I'd be trying to woo girls while wearing a bed sheet.

And so, here I was, dressed in a toga (admittedly quite a bit grander than I had expected), with just one question left.

"So...why exactly am I Hera?" I asked.

"Because I'm Zeus!" Tamaki exclaimed happily. "The king!" He added, just in case there was any doubt. "And Hera is Zeus' wife."

My eye twitched. "Yes, Sempai, but I am a boy, remember?" I said slowly.

Tamaki shrugged. "Yes, well, fangirls are mysterious creatures. They like crossplay." Which, of course, it wasn't, making this situation even more messed up.

"Boushi, you make such a pretty queen of the gods!" Giggled Aiko, one of my regulars.

"Uh, thank you," I said, my host smile kicking in. "Why don't we go sit over there?" I gestured to a couch at the far end of the room. When we were joined by the other girls that frequented my company, I led them to the couch I'd indicated.

On the way, I noticed the crazy amount of work that had gone into decorating the music room. Statues that looked as if they had come straight from a museum in Greece (and probably did, knowing the connections these people had) were placed here and there, pillars reminiscent of those found in Greek temples bordered the room, and beautiful paintings hung on the walls. One thing you couldn't say about the Host Club was that they didn't take their cosplay seriously.

"Who are you two supposed to be?" I stopped to ask the twins as we passed them.

"We're Gemini," they said, looking up at me from the couch they were sitting on.

"Wanna play the 'Which One is Castor' game?" Hikaru asked.

"Um, that's okay," I said, but I heard about half a dozen girls say "ooh, I do!" as I moved on. I had hardly taken two steps before tripping over Hunny. Mori grabbed the back of my toga to steady me.

"Thanks, Mori-sempai," I said, gazing up at him. "And you are…?"

"Hercules," Mori grunted.

"Makes sense," I said, nodding.

"And I'm the god of cake and bunnies!" Hunny exclaimed, smiling up at me. He was wearing a pink toga, and had even dressed Bun-Bun up in a matching one.

"Of course you are, Hunny-sempai." I guess Hunny's always off in his own little world. Noticing Kyoya, dressed in a pure black toga, sitting off to the side with some guests, I figured I might as well ask.

"Who are you, Kyoya-sempai?"

He looked over at me, glasses glinting. "I'm Hades, god of riches, of course."

_And the underworld…_I added in my head. "It, um, fits you," I said, and finally led my customers to the free couch.

One of the few perks of being a host was the food. They always had little treats and fancy foods on normal days, but on themed days like these, they really went all out. Today, Greek cuisine was laid out on all the tables. Greek salad, Greek yogurt, gyros, pita bread, more dishes than I recognized; they all looked great.

We sat down and, chatting with the girls, I helped myself to a little of everything, but because my luck is just that good, I didn't get to try anything.

"Host Club!" Three girls wearing a school uniform I hadn't seen before twirled through the doors. Everyone looked at them, and I heard a loud groan from the twins.

"What do _you _want?" They asked, standing up.

"A little birdie told us you recruited a new host," announced the tallest of the trio. "And that there's something special about _him_," she added. "We just wanted to see for ourselves."

Tamaki jumped up and tried to block their way. "No! Stay away!"

Ignoring the blond host, the girls walked past him and surrounded my table.

"Boushi, isn't it?" Asked the tall one. Without waiting for an answer, she went on. "I am Benio Amakusa, but you may call me Benibara. This is Chizuru Maihara," she gestured to the long-haired girl, "and Hinako Tsuwabuki," she finished, pointing to the short wavy-haired girl.

"And we're St. Lobelia Academy's Zuka Club!" They cried in unison, as if this meant something to me.

"Zuka Club?" I asked.

"Lobelia's is a girl's school nearby, and the Zuka Club is a group of obnoxious girls who put on plays and hate us, and all men, for some reason," Hikaru and Kaoru explained, "they're always showing up and bothering us."

"That's a rather lackluster explanation," Chizuru noted.

"That's men for you," Hinako sighed.

"The Zuka Club is so much more than that," Benibara assured me, because I obviously cared. "We are a group of women, by women, and for women, celebrating womanhood," she cried dramatically.

"Yeah, you guys love you some womanhood all right," Hikaru cracked.

The younger Zuka Club girls shot the twins dirty looks, but Benibara continued to address me. "When I heard that the new host was a young woman, I had to come and see for myself."

"Woman? Where on earth did you hear that?" I asked, looking around to see if my guests were catching on. Rich people apparently have really short attention spans, because they had all wandered off and were hanging around with hosts that weren't preoccupied with the Zuka Club.

Ignoring my question, Benibara went on. "And now that I have, I must say, it's appalling. How dare you…_men_," she spat, as if that was supposed to be insulting, "force this poor girl to hide what she is, and to be a part of your despicable club?"

"Despicable," Chizuru agreed, shaking her head.

"But fear not, for we are here to save you before…" Benibara paused. "Before it's too late."

"Too late for what?" I asked.

"Come with us now, fair maiden, we shall save you from the clutches of these fiends!" Benibara cried, taking my hand and kissing it. I quickly drew back, blushing, suddenly getting the whole womanhood obsession/man hating thing.

"Um, okay, I know I'm pretending to be a guy and all, but it's not, um, like that, or anything. They're kind of forcing me to, but I don't need saving or anything," I stammered, embarrassed by this whole situation.

"Yeah! So just leave, nobody wants you around here!" Tamaki yelled, pointing his finger in Benibara's face. She scowled and brushed it away. Fixing me with a glare, she stood up and folded her arms.

"Fine. Just remember, you made your choice," she warned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, but she ignored me.

"LOBELIA!" All three Zuka girls sang, spinning back out of the room.

"Um…wow," I said, "just wow. I didn't realize just how many stupid clubs could all exist at once."

"Yes, it's a good thing the Host Club exists to counter-balance them, hmm?" Tamaki said proudly.

"Right. That's what it does," I said, rolling my eyes. It was easier not to argue with him, and besides, my guests were coming back. With a sigh, I put on my host face and welcomed them back, apologizing for the interruption.

_At least I finally get to try some of this food, _I told myself consolingly. _That's really the only upside to today…_

**A/N: Wow…I made it to chapter ten! I'm so happy! Maybe to some it's not a big deal, but reaching ten chapters is a first for me. Thanks to everyone who's read, favorited, subscribed to, and reviewed Ghost Club for motivating me to get this far! Here's to the next ten chapters, and a very Merry Christmas!**


	11. Never a Peaceful Moment

**A/N: I know it's a day late, sorry. ^^" I was at a New Years convention all day yesterday...speaking of which, happy New Year! My resolution is to WRITE MORE, GOODER...stuff...ahem. Anyways, please enjoy chapter 11~**

"Come again?" I asked Tamaki, not sure I'd heard right. It was a few days after the Zuka Club incident, the last day of school before a week-long break, and we were cleaning up after club when Tamaki had made his announcement.

"The Host Club is holding a weekend beach trip!" Tamaki repeated gleefully.

"Yeah, I got that part. But what beach did you just say we were going to be at?"

"Nekozawa-sempai has kindly agreed to let us use his beach for the weekend," Tamaki said. "We'll be staying at a nearby hotel and going down to his beach for all-day fun and excitement!"

Just when I thought these guys couldn't get any stupider, they proved me wrong. "Didn't we _just _come to the conclusion that the Black Magic Club, which Nekozawa-sempai is president of, wants to destroy us? So why the heck are we going to lounge on his beach?" I cried in exasperation.

"Because he offered it to us for free," Kyoya explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

I smacked my forehead with my palm. "Well, duh, he's probably just trying to bait us into going so he can take us all out on his home turf!"

"Yes, the thought did occur to me," Tamaki started.

_Just now,_ I thought, rolling my eyes.

"But there's nothing to worry about. We've got seven powerful, not to mention handsome, hosts on our side!" Tamaki declared, sparkling confidently.

"Um, yeah, sure. Good for us. But I guess there's no talking you out of this, so whatever," I sighed. "I'll see you guys then, I guess." So much for a relaxing break.

…

Having never been to the beach before, I have to admit, I was impressed. I assumed that most beaches didn't have giant cat-shaped cliffs nearby, or skeletons half-buried in the sand, but still. I laid out my big towel in a relatively bone-free patch of sand, sat down, and looked around.

Tamaki was sitting on a rock with some girl watching the ocean, with a long line of other girls waiting their turn. Hikaru and Kaoru were swimming and playing in the water with some girls that weren't in line to sit with Tamaki, Hunny was busy burying Mori in the sand, and Kyoya was waxing poetic to a small crowd of girls about some kind of coral that had washed up on the shore (and probably trying to sell it to them).

I closed my eyes and breathed in, enjoying the sea air. I was about to lay down and take a nap when a few of my regular guests wandered over to me.

"Boushi, aren't you going to swim?" Miyako asked, gesturing to my t-shirt and shorts.

"Um, no, I don't really like swimming," I lied. As a matter of fact, I did want to swim, but with all these girls around, there was really no way I could.

"Well, then how about you come play volleyball with us?" Shizuka asked, tossing the ball from hand to hand impatiently. She was a sporty tomboy, not the type you'd expect to come to the Host Club.

"All right, but I'm not very good," I warned them, standing up and brushing the sand off my clothes before heading over to the volleyball net with them. We played a few games, and if I was really a guy, my manly pride would be crushed by how badly I got my butt kicked by a bunch of girls.

"All right, last round," I said, serving the ball. It flew over the net and landed with a _thump_. "Hey, did I actually score?"

That was when I realized that none of the girls playing had even gone for the ball – in fact, they were all standing stock still.

"Girls?" I asked, disconcerted. It suddenly hit me that dead silence had fallen on the beach, when only moments ago, all the girls had been laughing and yelling.

Looking around, I saw the twins waving their hands in front of the faces of the girls that had been swimming with them, who all seemed frozen too, and Tamaki was trying to carry a motionless girl off of the rock they had been sitting on.

"What's going on?" I yelled, running over to where the rest of the Host Club was gathering. Before anyone could take a guess, however, everyone started to move again. Tamaki floundered in midair for a moment before falling into the water with a splash as the girl he was holding regained mobility and nudged him off the rock.

"Girls, are you all right?" Hunny asked. None of them answered, leaving the beach as eerily quiet as when they had been frozen. "Hello?"

They all turned to face us, their eyes blank.

"What's going–"

"Boushi, Kyoya, duck!" Tamaki yelled, spluttering water out of his mouth. We did as he said, and not a moment too soon, as a volleyball flew a million miles an hour straight through where our heads had just been. Straightening up and turning around, I saw Shizuka with her arm outstretched.

"Missed them," she said flatly.

"Shizuka, did you just – hey!" Something hit me in the back. Evidently the ball had landed near another girl, thankfully not with as strong an arm as Shizuka.

"Waahhhhhhh! Takashi, heeeeelp!" Hunny wailed as a few girls near him picked him up and started carrying him up the beach, heading for the cliff. Mori ran awkwardly after them, looking like he didn't know what to do.

"Can't hit girls…" I heard him say, trying to figure out another way to rescue Hunny from their clutches.

"What's going on heeeeere?" I yelped, running away from a girl who had realized that bones make great blunt weapons and was trying to smash my head in. Meanwhile, the girls who had been playing volleyball pulled the poles the net was strung between out of the ground and were chasing the twins with them.

"I'm too beautiful to die!" Tamaki yelled as a horde of girls closed in on him from all sides. He was trying to push them away with gusts of wind, but had the same qualms about attacking them that we all had.

"Hmm," Kyoya said unconcernedly, dodging a kick from a girl who must have been in the karate club, and pulling his notebook out from – you know what, never mind. I don't want to know where he kept that thing in his swimsuit.

"Delete. Delete. Delete," he said, quickly writing something in his little black book. As he did so, three girls who had been attacking him fell over and didn't get back up.

"K-kyoya-sempai, d-did you just…?" I trailed off, aghast.

"What's wrong? Some outside force is controlling these girls. I simply deleted it," He explained, his glasses glinting.

I gulped. "Right. You just do that," I said, having to run away again as more girls came at me with femurs and ribs.

"HYAAAAH!" Letting out a battle cry, Hikaru and Kaoru, each carrying a pole they must have wrested from their pursuers, ran at the mob surrounding Tamaki, scattering the girls.

"Thanks, guys!" Tamaki said. More girls were passing out as Kyoya scribbled away furiously.

"Here, let us help," the twins called to him. They ran at a girl, Hikaru getting her attention while Kaoru slipped behind her and put his index fingers on her temples. A moment later the girl fainted, and the twins high-fived and went for another girl.

"Did they do that?" I asked Tamaki, who looked much more composed now that he wasn't being attacked by possessed fangirls.

"Yes, if they can come into physical contact with another sentient being, they can create something called a psionic link. Once forged, they can use the link to get into their target's mind and have complete access to it. In this case, they're using the psionic link to drive the foriegn presence from the girls' minds," he explained.

"Wow," was all I had to say to that, making a mental note to never let the twins touch my head.

Within a few minutes, all the girls were out cold, and Hunny and Mori returned, Hunny's would-be kidnappers in tow.

"What happened to them?" Hunny asked, balancing a smaller girl precariously on his shoulders, while Mori had one slung over each shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Why did they all start attacking us?"

"They got possessed or something! See, I told you guys we shouldn't have come here! I bet Nekozawa-sempai's sitting up in some beach house watching us right now, plotting his next attack!" I yelled.

Kyoya sighed. "Unfortunately, Boushi's right. Whoever was controlling these girls is likely to try something again if we stay here. We should take them back to the hotel and leave tomorrow."

"Maybe now you guys will start listening to me," I grumbled (though I seriously doubted it) as we started loading unconscious girls into the cars we had taken. Worst beach trip ever.

**A/N: Well, there you have it, the twins' powers have finally been revealed! The little brats gave me quite a bit of trouble trying to come up with the right abilities, but I think this fits them perfectly. Now that you and Boushi are in the loop about all the host's powers, what do you think? You can let me know with that cleverly-placed review button down there. Thanks!**


	12. Sorta Cinderella?

I should have known better than to hope for some peace after getting back from the beach, but it was only three days later that Tamaki announced that we were going to be putting on a play. I expected it to be over-the-top and ridiculous, but this…

"Sorta Cinderella?" I asked, looking at the title on the script Tamaki had handed me. "What the heck kind of a name is that?"

"Well, we were originally going to do Cinderella, but the twins and I decided that was too boring. So with a little bit of clever editing, it became…Sorta Cinderella!" Tamaki declared proudly, the twins nodding their heads.

"Of course," I said, looking over the script. "This is much better."

"Isn't it, though?" Cried the three authors of the play happily, not catching the sarcasm.

"Oh, and Boushi?" Kyoya spoke up. "You're a seamstress, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind making us a few costumes?"

"Um…" I said warily, not liking the direction this was going.

Kyoya tore a piece of paper from his notebook and handed it to me. "Here's a list of what we need."

Reading through the list, I nervously asked, "And when are we performing this?"

"About a month and a half," Kyoya replied.

My jaw dropped. "You want me to make one plain dress, four ballgowns, one 'grand, princely outfit' and a Lobelia Academy uniform in _a month and a half_?"

"No, of course not," Kyoya assured me. I breathed a sigh of relief. "We're putting on the play at one of Lobelia's theaters, so we'll borrow an old uniform from them. But the rest is up to you."

"Wh – are you crazy? I'd be lucky if I had time to make even _one_ of these costumes in a month and a half!" I exclaimed in shock.

"Well, I suppose you could refuse. I'll just add the price of the costumes onto your debt." Kyoya's glasses gleamed evilly.

"Wha-wha-wha-" I was about to start hyperventilating. I couldn't make six costumes in less than two months, but I didn't want this much money added onto my debt.

"Hey, no sweat," Hikaru and Kaoru said, leaning on me from either side, "we'll help you."

"You guys?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Hikaru said, "you may not know this, but we're expert seamsters and designers ourselves."

"Come on over after we finish up here, we'll show you our sewing room," Kaoru offered.

"Well, okay, sure," I agreed with a shrug, ignoring Tamaki's protests.

After we finished cleaning Music Room 3, I went home with the twins. Their mansion was huge (but that's kind of a given considering it's a mansion, I guess), and it took nearly ten minutes to get from the front door all the way to their sewing room.

"Here we are," they said, opening the double doors.

My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and I made a sound I'd only ever heard fangirls make when Tamaki was around. I had died and gone to seamstress heaven. Dozens of dress forms, some clad in half-finished garments, were spread throughout the sewing room, which had to be at least as big as my whole apartment. Forget yards; there had to be _miles _of fabric on the hundreds of bolts stacked in every available space in the room. I counted six top-of-the-line sewing machines on tables on the far wall.

"This is your sewing room?" I squeaked.

"Yup," the twins answered, grinning at my reaction.

"And…I can use it?"

"Whenever you like," they confirmed.

I sighed contentedly. At least if I was going to be busting my butt making costumes for some stupid play for the next month and a half, I'd have help and would be sewing in this amazing room.

"Well, we might as well get started," I said, gleefully skipping (something I doubt I've ever done before) into their sewing room and searching through their fabric. This was going to be fun.

…

The next day after school, Host Club ended early, as it would every day until the night of the show, so we could rehearse. Tamaki handed out scripts, and my sewing high from yesterday was officially over as I browsed through my lines.

"Sempai, why do you insist on putting me in all the female roles?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Because you're the only girl in our group, obviously."

"But we're the only ones that know that. Don't you think someone might get suspicious?"

"You're obviously overestimating the intelligence of the average fangirl," the twins said.

I thought about that for a moment. "Point taken."

"All right, now that that's cleared up, we'll start with just a read-through," Tamaki instructed. "Boushi, you start."

I cleared my throat. "Woe is me," I started, but was promptly interrupted by the sound of a powerful motor.

"LUKEWARM!" Renge screamed as she rose from…wherever her giant platform came from.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Your delivery is lukewarm!" She yelled again.

"Um, okay. You realize this is the first time I've–"

"Irrelevant! Where's the emotion? The drama? I can't feel your woe!" Renge ranted, her hair hissing angrily at me.

"Uh, sorry?" I said, eyeing her hair snakes warily.

"Now! Once more, with feeling!"

I sighed. This was so not worth the promise of using the Hitachiin's sewing room.

…

The next month and a half passed in a blur. Between schoolwork, hosting, sewing, and rehearsing, I was a frazzled mess; and yet somehow, all the other hosts were just as perfectly groomed and together as always. I really don't know how they did it.

The night before the show, the twins and I were up until 3 am finishing the costumes, but we finally finished. I must have fallen asleep at my sewing machine at least twice, but my pride (and my debt) wouldn't let me stop until everything was perfect. Thankfully, the play was on a Sunday, so once the Hitachiins drove me home, I could sleep straight through until I had to leave for our final dress rehearsal.

And then, just like that, it was time. Girls from Lobelia and Ouran mingled in the audience, along with a few boys and teachers. The Host Club, plus Renge, who had appointed herself our director, was gathered backstage.

"Places, everyone!" Renge ordered, and I scuttled to my spot center stage, waiting for the curtain to rise.

"Lights…Camera…"

"Um, Renge, there's no camera in theater," I whispered.

"There is when I'm recording this for Moe Moe Ouran Diaries: The Movie! Action!"

Before I had time to wonder what Moe Moe Ouran Diaries was, the curtain rose and Sorta Cinderella had begun.


	13. Curtain Call

I looked out for a moment at the sea of faces staring at me and gulped. That was a lot of people. They all cheered as the curtain rose, and I heard some of the girls from Ouran squeal "moe!" when they saw me in a dress.

Being in the Host Club had pretty much robbed me of the ability to feel embarrassment anymore, so I swallowed my stage fright and said my first line."Woe is me," I cried, glad that Lobelia had provided us with mics so I didn't have to worry about projecting my voice across the huge theater. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Renge, for some reason wearing tights and a green tunic and hat, give me a thumbs up. I guess my delivery wasn't lukewarm this time.

After a few minutes, I pretty much tuned everything else out and just went into autopilot, lines flowing out of my mouth naturally after so many rehearsals. I didn't even miss a beat when Kyoya and Mori walked onstage in dresses. Everything was going smoothly until about halfway through the show, about the time I thought, _hey, this isn't going too bad!_ Fate just loves to mess with me.

Hunny had just made his first appearance, skipping onstage in a giant poofy pink dress that was nearly as big as him. He was opening his mouth to say his first line when something on the other side of the stage distracted him and his eyes widened in horror. I tried to grab his attention, bring him back to reality, but now he was shaking in terror.

"What is –" I turned around to see what was so terrible that he had to interrupt the play, and when I saw, a chill ran down my back and I gasped. Renge, backstage, was slowly walking towards us; she had donned a white mask, the face of a demon with horns and a mouth split in a leering grin. I knew it was just a mask, but inexplicably, my heart was trying to beat out of my chest. I was paralyzed with fear. I could do nothing but watch with a feeling of impending doom as she drew closer.

Behind the eerie smile of the mask, Renge's mouth was moving, but a deep voice much unlike her own came out. "I'm the Host Club's manager, and I get nothing but disrespect. Then you, an outsider, a bumbling, clumsy, _commoner_ come along, and they let you join their ranks, become one of them, even though you're a girl!"

Out in the crowd, some of the girls were whispering to each other, wondering what was going on.

I managed to find my voice. "Um, Renge, that's not exactly –"

"SILENCE!" She bellowed, taking another step towards me.

"Renge!" Kyoya yelled, having finally noticed what was going on and running onstage.

Renge looked past me and the spell was broken, I was in control of my body again. I took the opportunity to dash behind her, where I couldn't see the mask, and Hunny ran offstage wailing in fear.

"Renge," Kyoya began calmly, somehow unaffected by the mask. "I need you to take that mask off."

Ignoring him, Renge pulled a long sword from a sheath I hadn't noticed before.

"Renge, put the sword down," Kyoya instructed her, a warning note in his voice, but she turned around to face me.

Quickly, I closed my eyes so I couldn't see the mask, but seeing as how she was wielding a giant sword, I decided that wasn't the best idea. I put my hand up to block my view of her upper body, and saw that she was swiftly advancing towards me. Renge lunged, and I ducked, sidestepping her swing, but just barely. I felt the steel slice my left shoulder and cried out in pain as I twisted around so that I could kick her in the small of her back, just enough to knock her off balance.

Raising my bleeding left arm, clutching my shoulder with my right hand, I pointed at Renge and jerked my free hand to the side, concentrating on getting that sword away from her. It flew from her grasp and clattered to the ground a few yards away.

Rather than retrieving her weapon, Renge turned around, and I stumbled backward, trying to avoid the mask's gaze and stem my bleeding at the same time. I collided with Kyoya, who grasped my arms (just below the shoulder, thankfully) and moved me aside, stepping forward.

As I watched, he pulled his notebook out from a pocket I didn't remember sewing into his dress. "A shame, really, that I have to destroy the mask," he sighed, writing something in the little black book.

The mask glowed brightly for a moment, then split clean in half. Renge stood there for a moment, looking confused, before her eyes fluttered closed and she fainted. Kyoya quickly stepped forward to catch her, then laid her on the ground and picked up the remnants of the mask and examined them.

"What was that thing?" I asked.

"A _hannya _mask, as I suspected. I can't imagine what it would be doing here, but it is the embodiment of a jealous female demon," Kyoya explained. "When Renge put it on, it possessed her."

Before I could reply, I suddenly remembered the girls sitting in the audience who had seen everything and were watching with wide eyes. Thinking fast, I stood up straight, faced them, and bowed deeply, though I nearly passed out myself as blood rushed to my wound. Kyoya caught on and followed suit, and thankfully, the audience began to roar with cheers and applause.

I don't know where the rest of the Host Club had been while we were dealing with Renge, but they were there now, and the twins ran onstage on either side of me and bowed too as Mori began to lower the curtain. When we were out of sight of the crowd, I collapsed into Hikaru and Kaoru's arms, feeling dizzy, and they half walked, half carried me offstage.

"Come on, let's get your arm taken care of," Hikaru said.

"What's going on?" Tamaki asked as we entered the green room. "What happened to you, Boushi?"

"Renge got possessed by some demon mask and nearly took my arm off," I summarized as Hikaru and Kaoru sat me down and started searching for a first aid kit. When they found it, they cut the sleeve off my dress and pulled out antiseptic and a roll of bandages. I tried not to look at the gash, but I saw it anyway and swooned. I am not good with blood.

I turned my face away as they doctored my wound and saw a cloaked figure peek into the room.

"Nekozawa-sempai?" I exclaimed. The twins stepped in front of me, and Tamaki turned around and raised his arms, ready to attack if Nekozawa tried anything.

He waved a puppet-covered hand at me. "Hello there, Aizawa-san. I just wanted to congratulate you on your excellent performance earlier…muahahaha…"

I gasped. "It was you, wasn't it? You brought the _hannya _mask and got Renge to put it on!"

"Why, I have no idea what you're talking about. Good bye." And with an evil laugh, he vanished.

Tamaki was fuming. "Nekozawa-sempai did this to you? How did we not know he was here? This is unacceptable!"

Hikaru and Kaoru finished wrapping up my shoulder and I stood up.

"Just don't move that arm too much for a few days, it'll heal up just fine," Kaoru told me.

"Right." To Tamaki, I added, "Relax, Sempai. I'm okay."

"We need to keep our guard up from now on," Tamaki said. "The Black Magic Club seems to be following us now."

I decided not to point out that we were the ones who had tried to spend the weekend lounging on Nekozawa's beach like we were hoping to be attacked or something.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. Hikaru and Kaoru were my ride home tonight, so I said good-bye to Tamaki and followed them out to their car, glad that one way or another, Sorta Cinderella was behind me at last.

**A/N: Does the thought of the Host Club wearing dresses and performing their own rendition of Sorta Cinderella intrigue/disturb you? Well then, mosey on over to my one-shot, "Sorta Cinderella, Ouran Host Club Style," and make your dream/nightmare come true! [/shameless plug] P.S., in theater, a green room is the place where actors hang out before they go onstage.**


	14. One Moment

"Thanks again for letting me come over, guys," I said gratefully as I set up shop in the Hitachiin's sewing room close to 11 p.m. "I wouldn't bother you so late, but my machine's going to give out any minute now, and I really need to finish this."

"Yeah, anytime. What are you making?" Kaoru asked, pulling up two chairs next to me, one for him and one for Hikaru.

"It's a dress for Aiko. I'm almost done, I'll try to be out of your hair soon," I promised. Even though I had a lot of help from the twins making the costumes for Sorta Cinderella, Aiko was really impressed and had asked if I could make her a dress for some ball or something she was going to. I had agreed, confident in my skills and eager to make some money (I wasn't telling Kyoya, sure he would demand at least a portion of the profits go towards my debt), but she needed it by Saturday night, and I was feeling the pressure.

"Take your time. You can crash here tonight if you need to," Hikaru offered.

"Thanks." I breathed a sigh of relief. It was Thursday night now, and it's not like Aiko couldn't afford to buy a dress if I didn't finish in time, but I didn't want to let her down. Besides, one benefit to hanging around all these rich people, someone in the industry might take notice of me.

Lulled by the rhythm of the machine, I settled into the trance I always went into when I sewed, where I just tuned everything else out and focused on my garment. I had completely forgotten Hikaru and Kaoru were sitting on either side of me, watching intently like they had nothing better to do, until Kaoru's phone went off, making us all jump.

"Crap," I muttered. In my surprise, I had jerked the silky fabric all over, and now the seam was a mess. As I reached for the seam ripper to undo my mistake, Kaoru answered his phone.

"Yeah? All right. Boushi's at our place anyway, so the three of us will be right there. See ya." Hanging up, Kaoru addressed me and Hikaru. "That was Hunny-sempai. They need us up at school."

I sighed and set down the seam ripper. "Of course." Carefully laying out the almost-finished dress, I stood up. "I'll probably need to stay here overnight after all, and work on this tomorrow."

Hikaru stood up and stretched. "All right, no problem. Let's go."

I followed the twins to their garage, where a driver was waiting in one of many limos.

_Are they paid to just sit around until someone needs a ride? _I wondered as I slid into the backseat after Hikaru and Kaoru. _I'm not sure if that's the easiest or stupidest job ever. _

A short while later, we pulled up in front of school, where Hunny and Mori were waiting for us.

"Hi!" Hunny greeted us enthusiastically as we climbed out of the car. Mori simply nodded in our direction.

"Hey, Sempai. So what's on the agenda for tonight?" I asked, heading inside with everyone else.

"Well, something's here, but it's…different, somehow," Hunny answered thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side and clutching Bun-Bun tightly. "Not like other monsters or demons we've seen before. Tama-chan and Kyo-chan are already looking for it."

"Something new," Hikaru summarized.

Kaoru nodded. "This'll be interesting, then."

I rolled my eyes. "Is anything _not _a game for you two?"

They shrugged simultaneously. "Not really."

"That's gonna come back to bite you one of these days," I warned them, but even I didn't believe it. Those two, I thought, lived a charmed life, just like all the other carefree rich kids at this school. Must be nice to have everything handed to you on a silver platter, do whatever you want, no consequences.

"That way," Mori suddenly said, pointing to the right as we came to a fork in the hallway. I didn't ask how he knew. I figured the less I knew about how the inner workings of the hosts, the better.

"So, how is this monster tonight different?" Hikaru asked Hunny.

"I'm not exactly sure. It's weird, it's not any less of a monster than the ones we've battled before, but at the same time it is."

"Ah, I see. That makes no sense at all," Kaoru said.

"I'm just telling you what Bun-Bun said," Hunny defended himself, holding up his precious rabbit.

Hikaru opened his mouth, probably to make some sarcastic comment, when a loud growling made us all look around.

"What was that?" I asked nervously.

"It came from around the corner," Hikaru said, pointing down the hall. We came to a silent agreement that it would be better to catch it off guard before it could do the same to us.

Slowly, we crept down the hallway, and Hunny peered around the corner. He turned back to us, eyes wide, and whispered, "it's a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" I repeated. "Why would a werewolf come here of all places?"

"It's probably a student. Ouran would smell familiar to it, and it reeks of evil besides."

I gaped at Mori. Had he really spoken two and a half whole sentences in one night? I didn't have time, however, to marvel at his sudden verboseness. I heard another growl – this time, right behind me. We all turned around and I gasped.

The werewolf had apparently followed our voices and found us standing here talking about it, and it didn't look too happy. In fact, it looked hungry. Standing upright but hunched over, it towered over me by a good foot, a slobbering mess of matted brown fur with long, sharp claws on its large front paws.

For a moment, we all just stood there as the beast stared at each of us individually, as if trying to decide which one of us it should eat first.

"Run!" Kaoru yelled, the first one to come to his senses. He didn't have to tell us twice; we all turned and ran down the hall back the way we had came. In retrospect, we probably should have known that the werewolf could outrun us, but that didn't occur to any of us until Hunny cried out as it tackled him to the ground.

"Hunny-sempai!" I yelled, racing towards him. The werewolf had to be three times his size. It had him pinned down, we weren't going to make it in time – and then suddenly, Mori flew in from nowhere, slamming into the werewolf. He wrestled it off of his cousin, but just when it looked like he had the upper hand, it kicked him in the chest, hard, and sent him flying into the wall.

"Takashi!" Hunny shouted, running over to Mori, who sat up and shook his head blearily. The werewolf got to its feet and I gulped. I looked around for something heavy I could throw at it, but there was nothing.

The werewolf fixed its gaze on us, evidently deciding the first years would put up less of a fight. Growling, it crouched down on its haunches, about to leap at us, when Tamaki and Kyoya walked around the corner behind it.

"What the?" Tamaki exclaimed, taking in the scene. At the sound of his voice, the werewolf turned around and snarled at the newcomers. "Nice doggy," Tamaki said nervously, backing up.

"I got this, Tama-chan! Bun-Buuuuun KICK!" Hunny yelled, jumping in the air and dive-bombing the werewolf, roundhouse kicking it in the side. With a yelp, it flew into the wall, but quickly got back up, and angrier than ever now.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, distract it," Kyoya commanded, whipping out his notebook. "Keep it confused so it won't attack anyone."

"On it!" They said in unison, and Hikaru ran past it, nimbly dodging as it swiped at him.

"Nyeh, nyeh, can't catch me!"He taunted. The werewolf was about to jump at Hikaru, but just then, Kaoru ran by and tapped it on the shoulder, leaping backward as it turned around and lashed out at him.

"I'm over here now," he said in a sing-song voice, obviously enjoying toying with death.

As the twins kept the werewolf busy, Kyoya began to write something in his notebook, and it began to glow faintly. Suddenly, I realized what he was doing – he was going to kill the werewolf. I remembered what Mori had said, how it was probably a student, and I couldn't let him do it.

"Kyoya, no!" I cried, and made a decision I'd regret for the rest of my life. I ran and threw myself at Kyoya, knocking the notebook from his hands. Everyone turned to stare at me.

"Boushi, what on earth?" Kyoya exclaimed, taken aback.

"You can't kill him, it's not his fault he –" I was cut off by a scream that made my blood run cold. Turning around, I watched the scene play out as if in slow motion, powerless to stop the chain of events I had set into motion.

In our moment of distraction, the werewolf had jumped at Hikaru and had him pinned down. All I saw was flashing teeth, and claws, and blood. A lot of blood. My knees buckled and I fell backward into Kyoya, who stumbled under my sudden weight but held me up.

Tamaki shot a blast of energy that collided with the werewolf, sending it flying off of Hikaru and into the wall. With a whimper, it fell to the floor and didn't get back up.

Neither did Hikaru.


	15. Consequences

**A/N: This has nothing to do with anything, but I was recently re-reading what I've already published..ehehe, let's just say I've come a long way since the first couple chapters. ^^" Thanks to everyone that stuck with me through those first awkward weeks, you guys rock! Please review and let me know what you think of the recent developments!**

"Hikaru!" Kaoru cried, running to his brother's side. "HIKARU!" Kaoru shook him violently by the shoulders, but Hikaru's eyes stayed closed. Tamaki ran to kneel by Hikaru, and I stayed frozen in place, head spinning, feeling like the ground had dropped out from under me even as Kyoya pushed me upright.

Hikaru was barely breathing, blood streaming from gashes all over his body. Tamaki ran his hands over Hikaru's wounds, which glowed and began to heal, but he was still unconscious and deathly pale.

"I'm sorry, I was just–" Finding my voice, I stepped forward and started to apologize, but Kaoru cut me off.

"This is all your fault!" He yelled, standing up and whipping around to face me, jabbing his finger in my face. "If you hadn't gotten in Kyoya's way, the werewolf never would have had a chance to attack Hikaru!"

"I-I-I-" I stammered, speechless, stepping back to avoid the force of Kaoru's anger. He was right, but this, everything, it was all too much for me to handle.

"Kaoru, you don't need to yell at her. Boushi never meant for this to happen," Tamaki defended me. He had gotten to his feet and was standing next to me, one arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders.

"I don't give a crap what she meant to do! If it weren't for Boushi, Hikaru would be fine right now!" Kaoru was breathing heavily, glaring daggers at me. "I hate you!" He screamed.

Wincing, I took a step backwards, leaning into Tamaki. "I'm sorry," I whispered, but Kaoru ignored me. Spinning around, he heaved Hikaru's body off the floor and carried him off. I stared after him in shock, hardly believing what I'd done.

"Tamaki," Kyoya said, breaking the silence that Kaoru had left in his wake, "maybe you should escort Boushi home," he suggested. I was about to protest that I didn't need escorting, but I was on the verge of tears and probably would have collapsed again if Tamaki hadn't been holding me up.

"What about…" Tamaki motioned towards the werewolf, which was beginning to stir.

"I'll take care of it. I can place a ward to temporarily revert it to a relatively harmless wolf." He didn't say, "that's what I was going to do in the first place," but I heard it anyway. Tamaki nodded and we left.

"I'll call my limo driver," Tamaki offered when we got outside, taking out his cellphone.

I shrugged, my eyes on the ground. After a few moments, I heard a small sigh and Tamaki snapped his phone shut.

"On second thought, we can walk," he decided. I don't know why he changed his mind, but it didn't make any difference to me, so I followed him off the the school grounds. We carried on in quiet for a few minutes until I just couldn't bear it anymore.

"He'll be okay, right? Hikaru?" I asked desperately, my voice cracking.

Tamaki hesitated, sighing deeply. "He'll live. It would take a lot more than a werewolf attack to separate the Hitachiin brothers."

"But?" I prompted.

"Well…he was bitten by a werewolf. So, it stands to reason that _he'll_ end up as…he'll be a…a werewolf."

A single tear running down my cheek, I clenched my fists, angry at myself. "And it's all–"

Before I could finish the thought, Tamaki had, in one fluid motion, stopped us in our tracks, spun me around to face him, and laid his index finger over my mouth to shush me.

"Don't say 'my fault,'" he ordered. I was too surprised by the sudden movement to say anything, eyes wide and heart racing. "Even if it is, you can't beat yourself up. What's done is done, and you're sorry, right?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, moving his finger to brush the tear from my face. "So you have to stop blaming yourself. This is an order from your king!" He finished dramatically.

I stared at him for a second, amusement battling my feelings of guilt, anger, and, for some reason, a little disappointment. Amusement won, and I burst out into hysterical laughter, clutching my stomach.

"What? What's so funny?" Tamaki asked, looking genuinely taken aback.

"You…so serious…'order from your king!'" Was all I managed, gasping for breath between peals of laughter. He still looked confused, but that was Tamaki for you, and he smiled.

"As long as you're happy again," he said, pleased with himself. I breathed in deeply to calm myself. Somehow, the embodiment of absolute ridiculousness known as Tamaki had managed to cheer me up a little bit.

"Just a little farther," I assured him, setting off again. I took the lead this time, seeing as how he had never actually been to my place before. When we reached my apartment complex, Tamaki commented, "that took longer than I thought."

"What, the little rich boy can't handle a little walking?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"That's not it!" Tamaki protested. "It's just, I think it's a long way for you to walk by yourself in the middle of the night is all."

"Well, it's a pretty safe neighborhood," I said with a shrug. "And besides, I wasn't alone tonight, was I?"

"No, I suppose not," Tamaki murmured. He looked up and changed the subject. "So, this is your house?" He sounded impressed, like he thought I owned the whole complex or something.

"Well, my apartment is in this building. You, uh, do know what an apartment is, right?" You could never be sure with these rich kids.

"I'm not stupid! An apartment is what you put your luggage in on an airplane!" Tamaki stuck his tongue out at me as if to say 'ha!', then blinked. "Wait, you live in one of those?"

"Yeah, not quite." I was too tired to be mad at Tamaki for comparing my home to a luggage compartment. "An apartment is like a small house inside a bigger building that a lot of people live in." I could see the wheels turning inside Tamaki's mind as he tried to process the concept.

"So…it would be like if I rented out all the rooms in one of the Suoh mansions to a bunch of people?"

I sighed. "Sure, Sempai. Just like that."

Tamaki's eyes lit up. "I can't wait to tell Kyoya the new fact I learned about commoners!"

I stifled a laugh. Sure enough, Tamaki's serious side had disappeared almost before it had a chance to show itself. It was then that I realized that was where my earlier disappointment had come from. I guess it bothered me because Tamaki was such a hassle when he was spazzing out like this. I had to admit though, when he wasn't unintentionally insulting me, it was kind of endearing; like a little kid or a puppy.

I started for the stairs. "Right, well, have fun with that."

"Do you want me to walk you to your apartment?" Tamaki asked, following me.

"No, that's okay." If Tamaki knew my apartment number, he'd probably tell the rest of the club, and then they'd all be trying to come over. "Good night, Tamaki-sempai." I started up the stairs, waving good-bye to Tamaki.

"Good night, Boushi!" Tamaki called cheerily, sitting down on the sidewalk and dialing a number on his phone. I watched and, a few minutes later, a long black limo turned the corner and Tamaki hopped in. When the limo had driven out of sight, I continued up the stairs and down the hall to my apartment.

I went to my room and laid down, replaying the night in my mind. If only I hadn't tried to stop Kyoya, he would have subdued the werewolf, and it never would have hurt Hikaru. I should have known that Kyoya wouldn't have killed an innocent bystander, why did I have to – I shook my head, remembering what Tamaki had said. I couldn't beat myself up over this, even if it was my fault.

I just had to keep telling myself that Hikaru would survive. That was the important thing.


	16. Life Returns to What Passes for Normal

**A/N: Lately, I find myself going back and editing finished but unpublished chapters over and over again. I guess there are worse writing habits, I mean, at least I'm (hopefully) improving on what I already have, right? Just making sure that everything's perfect when it gets to you guys. I hope you appreciate all the hard work I'm doing for you! :) Maybe you could show said appreciation by reviewing and letting me know what you think? Thanks!**

"How are you doing?" Tamaki asked as he picked me up for school the next morning.

I shrugged. "Okay." After a good night's sleep I was feeling better, as long as I didn't dwell on last night too long, or what would happen when I had to face Kaoru at school later.

As it turned out, I didn't have to worry about facing him at school – neither of them were present today, not that I had expected Hikaru to be there.

Before homeroom, a girl with short brown hair from my class walked up to me. "Boushi-san? Where's Hikaru?" She asked. I recognized her as Kairi Okano, one of the twins' regular guests.

"I'm…not really sure. Sorry."

All day, girls came to me between classes to ask where the Hitachiins were, and I gave them all the same answer. At club, a few of their regulars picked other hosts to spend time with, and the rest just left, looking disappointed. I saw Kyoya do some calculations, look my way, and sigh. I knew that now on top of everything else, I was responsible for lost profit for the Host Club. Great, that's what I needed now, something else to be stressed about.

As soon as club was over and all the girls had left, I headed straight outside. Tamaki's limo driver was waiting, so I got in, and a short time later, I saw Tamaki come out of school and head towards his car.

"Do you think we could stop by the twins' house on the way home?" I asked as he got in.

Tamaki turned around in his seat and raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't say anything except, "I guess, why?"

"I left something there last night." Despite everything that had happened, life had to go on. Aiko's dress was still laying in Hikaru and Kaoru's sewing room, and I needed to finish it tonight so I could bring it to her tomorrow at school.

Tamaki nodded and told the driver to make a quick detour to the Hitachiins'. A few minutes later we arrived and I hopped out of the car. Tamaki opened his door, but I placed a hand on it to stop him. "I got this," I assured him. If Kaoru blew up at me again, I would have to deal with it on my own. I couldn't rely on someone else to defend me.

I walked up to the gate and pressed the buzzer. "Is Kaoru here?" I asked. "It's Boushi, I need to get something I left here."

A voice came through the box as the gate opened. "I'll let him know. Come in." I followed the path to the front door and waited in the front hall (if a room as large as my apartment could be called a hall) when a maid let me in. A few moments later Kaoru walked in, holding Aiko's dress. He was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing last night and looked as if he hadn't gotten any sleep.

"Here." He shoved the dress in my arms without meeting my gaze and turned his back on me. "This is what you came for, isn't it?"

"How's Hikaru?" I asked timidly, ignoring his unspoken but loud "now get out." I saw his shoulders rise up to his ears as he took a deep breath.

"He's in the hospital. He lost a lot of blood, but the doctors say he should make a full recovery soon. They just can't figure out why he won't wake up." He turned back around and finally looked at me, but the anger in his olive eyes almost made me wish he hadn't. "Whatever happens to Hikaru, it's _your fault_. If anything else goes wrong, I'll never forgive you," he hissed.

I didn't know what to say, but Kaoru didn't wait for an answer, turning on his heel and leaving me alone in his gigantic foyer. I slowly breathed in, breathed out, and left. When I climbed back in the limo, Tamaki gave me a questioning look.

"Hikaru's in the hospital. The doctors say he'll be okay, but he hasn't woken up," I said.

"That'll be an aftereffect of the attack. His body is adjusting to the change."

The change. Becoming a werewolf.

"It'll be fine," Tamaki assured me. I wanted to believe it, but even if Hikaru recovered like he was supposed to, I doubted very much that either of the twins wouldn't hate me for what I'd done.

…

It was a week before we saw the Hitachiins at school again.

I was sitting at my desk, waiting for homeroom to start, when I heard gasps being stifled and everyone in class stood up to greet them. I looked up in the direction of the door and understood the gasps – the first thing I noticed about Hikaru was a long, large scar that started at his right temple; curving down his cheek, across the corner of his mouth, down to his chin. He looked cheerful enough as said hello to everyone, but when he looked my way I jumped in my seat and turned away.

He took his usual spot to my left, Kaoru on my right, and I busied myself with my books, not wanting to see their anger coming at me from both sides.

I spent the rest of the school day avoiding the twins. Instead of going to the cafeteria for lunch, I stayed in the classroom and ate by myself. I knew I couldn't hide forever, but it seemed like a good plan at the time.

Host Club was even more bustling than usual that afternoon. Hikaru and Kaoru's guests were back, asking questions about where they had been and what had happened.

"I was out in my backyard last week, minding my own business, when suddenly a dog burst through the hedges. I think it belongs to one of our neighbors, but while I was trying to figure out where it had come from, it just jumped me!" If Hikaru was tired of retelling the story for the thousandth time, he didn't show it, perfectly playing the part of a smiling host. "I managed to get away and chase it off, but I had this nasty cut on my face. It needed stitches, but other than that I'm fine. I just didn't come to school because it was still healing, although the scar probably won't be going away." The whole random-dog-attack thing didn't seem very believable to me, but it's not like the truth would seem believable to anyone else.

"So I guess I'll always win the Which One Is Hikaru Game now," Kairi commented.

Hikaru grinned. "It does look like we'll have to admit defeat," he agreed, while Kaoru leaned back and crossed his arms, looking sulky. "Aw, c'mon, Kaoru," Hikaru said, nudging his brother. "He's just grumpy because he doesn't have a matching battle scar," he told the girls. His tone was mischievous, but the sidelong glance he sent his brother seemed to be pleading for him to cheer up.

When club let out, and all the girls had left, I suddenly felt trapped. Any minute now, Hikaru would confront me, tell me how much he hated me for almost getting him killed, turning him into a monster, and –

"Boushi?" Hikaru called across the room from where he was sitting next to Kaoru.

I stiffened, and all the other hosts watched silently as I got up and turned around. "Yeah?"

"So how come you've been avoiding me all day?"

"Um." I wasn't sure how to reply, not having expected this line of questioning.

"Did I scare ya?" He asked, tapping his scar.

"What's wrong with you?" To my surprise, my voice wasn't the only one that had yelled the question. Hikaru looked between me and Kaoru in shock.

"Wait, what?" He asked. "Is there something you two want to tell me?"

Kaoru beat me to it. "How can you act like this? I told you what happened! Boushi's the one who nearly got you killed! It's her fault you're…you're a…a _werewolf_…and you're wondering why she hasn't said _hello_ to you? That's _it?_" He cried angrily, and I winced. That's what I had been thinking, what I had been about to say, but it didn't feel good to hear Kaoru scream it.

Hikaru looked between us again, and all I could do was nod, feeling fresh tears start to well up. With a sigh, Hikaru closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them, he looked straight at Kaoru and punched him in the arm.

"Hey!" Kaoru protested. "What was that for?"

Without answering, Hikaru got up, walked over to me, placed one hand on his hip, and with the other, thumped me lightly on the head with his fist. I looked up at him with wide eyes, confused.

"There. You wanted me to be angry at you, right?" He sighed again and went on. "When I first woke up, and Kaoru filled in the blanks on what had happened, I was. Mori-sempai came to visit me that evening, and after I ranted at him for a while, he just nodded and told me how depressed you've been the past week, beating yourself up over what happened. I didn't give a crap. I told myself you should feel horrible, and it gave me a grim kind of satisfaction. I had to stay in the hospital a few more days, which gave me plenty of time to stew in it. But when I got to school this morning and saw you, the point Mori-sempai was trying to make hit me for the first time. I realized I didn't want to stay angry. It's not worth it. I don't want to lose you or anyone else in the Host Club."

I let it sink in. "So…you're not mad at me?"

Hikaru smiled and shrugged. "Almost dying made me realize what's important to me. And besides, this scar? Total chick magnet."

I snorted. "Right. Because you had problems getting girls to like you before." I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, I was so glad he didn't hate me. I realized what was important to me, too – these stupid guys in the stupid Host Club, all of them; they had grown on me against my will, and now here we were.

"Kaoru?" I peered around Hikaru to look at his brother pleadingly. He was still sitting on the couch, arms and legs crossed, looking away.

Hikaru walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. I'm going to be fine, you know that. Now do what your big brother tells you and move on with yourself," he said gently.

Kaoru looked up at Hikaru for a long moment, let out a deep sigh, and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess if it's okay with you." He looked at me and nodded. This whole time, was he just waiting for Hikaru's approval to let go of his anger? Maybe I'd never quite understand just how deep the bond between Hikaru and Kaoru was. Fleetingly, I wondered what it must be like to be that close to someone.

I smiled and nodded back. "Thanks, guys."

For now, at least, all was right with the world.

**A/N: If Ghost Club was an anime (since this is a fanfic, I find that idea a little hilarious), I think this would be the ideal ending to the first season. *switches to announcer voice* Tune in next weekend when Ouran High School Ghost Club returns! It never actually went anywhere, and it's always been updated on weekends...but tune in anyway! *regular voice* But in all seriousness, I'm looking forward to next week, because chapter 17 will kick off Ghost Club's next story arc. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!**


	17. Back to the Drawing Board

**A/N: Well, here you have it, the start of "season two." ;) Enjoy~** Oh! And I'm starting something I'm going to call "Ouran High School Ghost Club: The One-Shots." Basically, whenever there's a scene from Ghost Club that I want to write but can't justify including in the main story, it'll go there. I have a couple planned out already, but I want to take your suggestions for other things to write. If there's anything you guys want to see happen, drop me a line with the review button that just happens to be located at the bottom of this page. If I like your idea...I'll write it. Simple as that. ****

When you hear the word picnic, what do you think of? Sitting on a checkered blanket in the park, eating sandwiches and drinking lemonade? Simple, enough, right? Apparently not.

If I had known they were fishing for ideas for Host Club activities, I would have tried to explain the concept of a picnic better to the Hitachiins when they were grilling me about what "commoners" did for fun.

"Well, I used to have picnics with my family when I was little…we'd get out an old blanket, sit in the park and eat lunch, and then I would go play on the playground or something," I explained, thinking back to the good old days, namely the ones before I joined the Host Club.

"What's so fun around eating lunch at some dirty old park?" Hikaru asked, making a face.

"Can't commoners afford dining tables?" Kaoru asked.

I sighed. "I don't know why people do it, they just do. And it's not like we're rubbing our food around in the dirt or anything. Just because we don't live in mansions doesn't mean we're uncivilized slobs."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked like they wanted to comment on that, but thought better of it, shrugging and going back to their studying. It wasn't until a few days later that I found out why they wanted to know.

"Good afternoon, ladies! We have a surprise for you!" Tamaki announced as girls began filing into Music Room 3 for the Host Club. "Today, we're holding a commoner-style picnic!" He got that excited look on his face that told me he was about to launch into an explanation he made up about the commoner lifestyle. "Due to the fact that many commoners live in cramped spaces with no dining tables or windows, they devised an ingenious way to both eat lunch and get fresh air and sunlight. Today we'll be serving all you lovely ladies outside in the commoner fashion. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

His words were greeted by excited and curious murmurs and a flood of questions.

"Where are we having this picnic?"

"Aren't there germs and bugs outside?"

"Do we have to eat commoner food?"

Tamaki raised his hands for silence. "Fear not, the picnic is going to be held in Ouran's gardens, nothing will harm you there. We'll be serving a traditional commoner's picnic meal of sandwiches. Now, follow me!" He led us and the girls out of the room and down the hall to the nearest exit into the gardens. When we got there, I saw about a dozen Persian rugs laid out in the grass, the million yen versions of picnic blankets. The one thing that was missing was the food.

"Where are the picnic baskets?" I asked Tamaki, and he gave me a strange look.

"You eat out of baskets?" He asked as the girls spread out, some sitting down and chatting, some standing in groups looking unsure about sitting on the ground. "Well, to each their own I suppose, but don't worry, I have the food taken care of." He pulled a little bell out of his pocket and rang it, and all of a sudden waiters stepped out of the trees, some holding trays stacked high with sandwiches, others holding glasses and crystal pitchers of tea and lemonade. They moved through the crowd of girls, handing out sandwiches and pouring drinks.

"Does it remind you of your childhood?" Tamaki asked me, looking proud of himself.

"Um, sure, this is exactly what it was like when I was a kid," I said, not wanting to burst his little bubble. Aiko was waving me over from where she sat with the rest of my regular guests, so I went to join them, grabbing a ham and cheese sandwich on my way.

It was completely unlike any picnic I'd ever had, considering the fact I'd probably double my debt if I spilled something on one of the rugs, but at least it was fairly low maintenance compared to some of our past Host Club events. Or started out that way, anyway. I was gingerly sitting down when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Hello Boushi, mind if I join you?"

I nearly choked on my sandwich. "Dad?" I managed, standing up. "What are you doing here?"

"What, I'm not allowed to come visit my dau–"

"How did you know about the picnic?" I cut him off, aware that my guests were watching us.

"Kyoya Ohtori told me. I figured it would be as good a time as any to see what the Host Club is all about," he replied, looking around in interest.

"Kyoya-sempai told you about the picnic?" I asked, looking over at Kyoya, who waved at us. Another question occurred to me. "Wait, you know about the Host Club?"

"Of course I do," he said cheerily. "I've been meaning to stop by ever since you first joined."

"Um, so…" I wasn't sure what to do now. Introduce Dad to my guests? Go about my business so he could see what I did all day? It was a little embarrassing, which was part of the reason I'd never told him about the Host Club. As it turned out, I didn't have to worry about doing anything.

The first sign that something had gone wrong, as it always does, was the shrieks from a cluster of girls gathered in the shade of an old tree near Hunny and Mori's rug.

"What's wrong?" The small blond host asked, looking up from the guests he was entertaining.

"A hand! A hand, in the tree!" A black-haired girl cried, pointing up at something in the branches. We all looked and a collective gasp rose up from the crowd of picnickers. There was indeed a small red arm hanging limply from the tree. I couldn't see what, if anything, it was attached to, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

Suddenly, limbs began drooping from every tree, and most frightening of all, their branches began sprouting the most horrible fruit I'd ever seen – human heads, laughing eerily as their features became defined. My stomach lurched as the assembly went into a panic, screaming and passing out.

Immediately, the hosts snapped into action. Kyoya instructed everybody to go with Tamaki and the third-years in his calm as ever manner, and while the upperclassmen escorted and carried girls from the garden, he quietly added to the twins, "make sure that this incident is forgotten." They nodded and followed the frantic crowd.

"Dad, go with them," I said, shoving him after the mob. "I'll explain later." He seemed just as freaked out as everyone else and didn't need me to tell him twice.

When it was just me and Kyoya left in the garden, he placed a hand on the nearest tree and gazed up at it thoughtfully.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked, scurrying over to where Kyoya stood, trying not to hear the giggles coming from all around me.

"I don't think so, placing protective wards on the affected trees should be enough," he murmured, almost to himself, pulling his notebook from his apparently deceptively large pocket. As he clicked his pen and started to write, I heard laughter from behind me, deeper and more evil-sounding than the too-happy head fruits. That could only mean one thing…

"Nekozawa-sempai!" I exclaimed, turning around. Sure enough, there he was.

"I was just passing by and couldn't help but notice the lovely new developments to the garden…muahahaha…"

"Cut the crap, it's obvious you're behind this. What, are you trying to turn Ouran into some kind of creepy haven for your club?" I demanded.

"Why, I've no earthly idea what you mean. But now that you mention it, I would like to grow one of these at home." Nekozawa wandered over to a tree and began examining it. I cringed as he actually reached out for of the budding heads.

"Wait, don't –" Kyoya began, but the moment Nekozawa's finger came in contact with the head, all of them turned to look at him, eyes glowing red, and their laughter ceased, to be replaced with unearthly moans. The trees came alive, whipping their branches around, and blue fireballs began forming in their red hands.

"Oh, crap!" I cried, taking in the scene. "Nekozawa, what did you do?"

"Nothing," he wailed, dodging a large branch as it flailed around. "What's going on?"

The hands began throwing the fireballs about every which way. I tried to run, but there was no way to get out of the garden; branches and fire blocked every possible escape route.

Kyoya was scribbling furiously in his notebook, ducking around fireballs and branches without even looking up. A few of the trees began to calm down, and various body parts plopped from their branches and disappeared. The ghostly fires began dissipating and I relaxed. Bad idea.

As luck is one thing the hosts don't seem to have going for them, everything that could go wrong at that moment did.

The last sentient tree managed to smack Kyoya in the side, knocking him over and sending his notebook flying.

"Look out, Aizawa-san!" Nekozawa ran at me and shoved me over. At first I thought he was attacking me, but then a branch whipped out where I had just been, seizing Nekozawa around the middle and pulling him towards its tree. When he was pressed against the tree, it didn't stop there – to my shock and horror, he was being pulled _into _the tree, as if it was trying to eat him. I threw my hands out and tried to telekinetically wrest the cloaked boy from the tree's grasp, but it wasn't working.

"Kyoya-sempai, do something!" I screamed. Nekozawa was almost completely engulfed by the tree, panicking, unable to escape.

"_Aku, ryo, tai, SAN_!" Kyoya cried. He grabbed his notebook, tore a piece of paper out, and threw it hard. It flew like an arrow, striking the tree dead center and sticking there. A shadow seemed to float up from the tree, and it was still. Nekozawa slid out of its clutches and fell onto all fours.

"Wh-wh-wh-what just happened?" He gasped.

"You mean you really don't know?" I had assumed he was just playing dumb, but if his intentions really were to hurt anyone, he wouldn't have saved me from being swallowed by the demon tree.

"Of course not! My club only wants to spread the joy of curses, you couldn't possibly think we would do something like this?"

I glanced over at Kyoya, who looked perplexed. This changed everything – if the Black Magic Club wasn't behind the so-called haunting of Ouran…who was?

**A/N: So, let's make this into a game…you probably noticed, I reference a lot of different anime in Ghost Club. Starting with this chapter, let's see how many people can guess which animes I incorporate into the story every week. And while you're at it, I'd be much obliged if you let me know what you think of Ghost Club! As always, thanks for reading, please review, and I'll see you guys next week! ^.^**


	18. Smart People are Idiots

"I still can't believe you knew about the Host Club all along," I said, shaking my head as I sat down to dinner a few days after the disastrous picnic.

"Do you really think I would have let you spend that much time with people I don't even know, doing who knows what?" Dad asked.

"And knowing that those people are all teenage guys, that I'm spending my high school life as a crossdresser who hits on other girls, and that I'm 8 million yen in debt made you feel so much better?" I countered.

Dad shrugged. "When Kyoya first contacted me, I threatened to shoot them all if anything happened to you. He told me that he already had the best lawyer in Japan standing by to defend me if it came to that. I like this Kyoya guy," he added thoughtfully.

I rolled my eyes, but I didn't doubt that they were both telling the truth. Just as I was about to start on my meal, my phone started to go off, and I sighed. Speak of the devil.

"What is it, Kyoya-sempai?" I asked, shooting Dad an apologetic look for interrupting dinner.

"The usual. I'm already on my way to your house, I'll be there in two minutes."

"Okay. I'll be right there." I hung up and before I could say anything, Dad interjected.

"Club business, right?" He repeated the excuse I had given him a thousand times. I nodded sheepishly.

"Sorry, it's life or death." I wasn't exaggerating, our club business _was_ life or death, but he didn't know that. The twins had made sure no one outside of the Host Club remembered what had caused the picnic's abrupt end. I felt kind of bad that Dad couldn't know, but it was better this way.

"Go on," he sighed. "But don't expect me to wait for you to eat."

"Of course not. See ya later." I rushed downstairs, not wanting to keep Kyoya waiting. We arrived at the driveway at more or less the same time, and he nearly had his driver pull out before I had closed the door behind me.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" I asked, buckling myself in as the car pulled out into the street and headed for school.

"The sooner we get to school, the sooner we take care of whatever's there, and the sooner I can get back home," Kyoya explained.

"That makes two of us," I agreed.

"Yes, I'm dying to find out what happens to Watanuki and Domeki next…" Kyoya mused.

"What?" I asked. "Who're they?" In the back of my mind, I thought I remembered Renge mentioning those names before.

Kyoya was silent for a moment, then turned around in his seat, his glasses glinting dangerously. "Nobody. Please forget I ever said anything," he said a little too pleasantly.

"Um, yeah, sure," I promised with a gulp. I didn't try to engage Kyoya in conversation again for the rest of the ride, too scared he'd try to exorcise me or something if I said the wrong thing. When we got to school, Hunny and Mori were just pulling up, so we got out and caught up to them.

"Hey guys," I greeted them as we walked in together.

"Hey Bou-chan, Kyo-chan!" Hunny waved at us, and Mori nodded in our general direction.

"Should we wait for the twins and Tamaki-sempai?" I asked.

"No need." I turned at the sound of Tamaki's voice coming from the doorway. He and the twins must have gotten there right after us. "So, what've we got tonight?"

"Bun-Bun's saying something about an ape-like creature," Hunny said.

I shuddered. "I hate monkeys. They creep me out."

Hikaru and Kaoru each raised an eyebrow, somehow managing to do it perfectly symmetrically. "Seriously?"

"They rip people's faces off and stuff," I said defensively.

The twins exchanged glances. "Whatever you say." Great. Now they were probably going to show up at my apartment wearing monkey costumes or something.

"Let's just get going," I suggested.

When we came to a fork in the hallway, Tamaki spoke up. "We'll split up. Hitachiins, you go with Hunny-sempai and Mori-sempai down the left way. Boushi and Kyoya, you guys come with me to the right."

We all nodded and broke off into our groups.

"So, if the Black Magic Club isn't our enemy, who do you guys think it could be?" I asked.

"I have my theories. I knew all along the Black Magic Club wasn't anything to worry about, so I've been devoting my time trying to–"

I stopped walking and cut him off. "Wait, you knew? All this time?

"Why, yes. The Black Magic Club was, of course, my first thought, but my research yielded nothing that indicated they were capable of such a feat. No one else in the Host Club even considered that someone could be controlling the monsters we fight, so I never brought it up."

"Okay, and when we all did have ourselves convinced it was them, you said nothing, _because?_" I asked, exasperated.

He shrugged. "Slipped my mind? The rest of you need to figure these things out on your own. And anyway, it was rather amusing."

I was fuming at the patronizing tone in his voice. "Amusing? On what planet is that amusing, you–"

Tamaki stepped between us, probably sensing I was about to deck Kyoya. "Um, guys! I think we have a slightly more important issue to deal with right now." He pointed down the hall to where, while we had been arguing, a really big, hairy, orange ape had appeared, slumped over with its arms dangling loosely at its sides.

"What is that?" I asked.

"I believe it is a demon commonly known as a _satori_," Kyoya said, getting out his notebook, "but that's all the information I have on it."

"Well, that's helpful."

I gasped – somehow, my thoughts had been spoken aloud, even though I hadn't opened my mouth.

"What's going on?" Again, my voice came from…somewhere, echoing my thoughts.

"Why does it sound like Boushi?" Tamaki asked.

I noticed that the creature's mouth was moving, and this time, Tamaki's voice came out. "This is an outrage! This _satori_ thing is far too ugly to impersonate Boushi!"

Tamaki turned red.

"Apparently, it can speak people's thoughts," Kyoya noted, amused.

It spoke in his voice next. "Was there a Clow Card that could do that? No, perhaps I'm thinking of The Change, it has similar abilities."

Undeniable rage crossed Kyoya's face. "Kill it," he growled.

The _satori _seemed to take his words as its cue to attack. It threw its head back and let out a screech, then charged at us, fists raised. We scattered before it could hit us, but it swung around without stopping and ran straight at me. I ducked before it could punch me in the head, and retaliated with a kick to its knee. It yowled and leapt backward, and I concentrated on knocking a nearby pillar over onto it.

I forgot the part where it can read minds, apparently, because it stuck out an arm and swiped the pillar away as it fell, almost sending it flying into Tamaki. The blond shot a blast of fire at it, but again, it saw it coming, and moved out of the way very nimbly for such a large ape demon.

Kyoya began writing an exorcism spell, but the _satori _bolted over to him and snatched his notebook away. It threw it across the hall then rounded on me. Before any of us knew what was happening, a bright light shot from its eyes and hit me right in the face. I blinked rapidly and stumbled back, suddenly feeling very tired. My vision blurred and I toppled over, unconscious before I hit the ground.

…

"...shiiii. Booouuushiiii." A voice was calling my name, rousing me from a deep sleep. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a large, shiny room, laying on a soft velvet couch that probably cost more than all the furniture in my apartment combined.

"Have a nice nap?"

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, sure I was seeing things. No, they were really there. I was surrounded by six long-legged, handsome boys who were all staring at me. The one who said my name and asked me if I had a nice nap was leaning over the back of the couch, his blond hair falling in his eyes as he smiled down at me. There were two nearly identical orange-haired boys – twins, I guessed, though one of their faces was dominated by a nasty scar – leaning on each other, a short blond kid holding a pink bunny toy, and two tall guys with black hair; one of them bespectacled, the other wearing only a blank look on his face.

Understandably, I freaked out just a little bit. I toppled off the couch, inadvertently managing to shove it into the taller blond, who fell over with an "ooph!"

I looked up at the boys, wondering what the heck was going on here. I had no idea where I was, or why there were six random guys watching me sleep. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answers, but I asked anyway.

"Where am I? Who are you?"


	19. A Clean Slate

"What are you talking about, Boushi?" The tall blond grunted as he pulled himself off the ground.

"How do you know my name?" I demanded. "What's going on here?"

"Very funny. You know we're the only ones who can pull off any pranks around here," said the ginger standing on the left, rolling his eyes.

"No, I don't know that," I said. Whoever these guys were, they acted like they knew me, but I had no idea who they were.

The blond I'd knocked over offered me his hand. Warily, I took it and let him help me up. Instead of letting go when I was on my feet, he grabbed my other hand and stared into my eyes.

"Uh..." I pulled away, nervous. I'd never seen this guy in my life, but there was something about him... "Could someone please explain what's going on?"

"Maybe she's serious," said the twin that had spoken to me before.

"Well, only one way to find out," said the other one, and they both started towards me. I tried to back away, but they were too quick, and each laid a hand on my temples.

"Hey, what're you - ah!" I let out a cry of pain. Suddenly, my brain felt like it had exploded, and images I didn't recognize of myself and these young men flashed through my mind. Every image lasted only a split second, not long enough for me to make anything out clearly, leaving me with a feeling like I'd smashed my head into a wall each time.

Moments later, the phenomenon finally stopped, and I found myself on my knees, clutching my throbbing head, the twins gaping down at me.

"What did you doppelgangers do to her?" The tall blond yelled, aghast, looking like he was about to punch the twins. He posed a very good question, if you asked me.

"Nothing, Milord," the twins said, looking surprised at what had just happened. "Not exactly, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asked the blond kid curiously, tilting his head to the side.

"Well..." the scarred twin seemed unsure how to start, so the one on the left took the reins.

"We wanted to be sure she wasn't just messing with us, so we reached into her mind."

"But you said you'd never do that to any of us!" The taller blond - Milord? - protested. I was completely lost already, and my throbbing head wasn't helping.

"Under normal circumstances, yeah," the other twin piped up, "but we had to check. If she was just trying to pull a fast one on us, she would've been fine. But..." he looked to his brother, at a loss for words again.

"Well, when we realized she wasn't lying, she really didn't remember us, we tried to find out what was wrong and bring her memories back. If she just hit her head or something, it would be easy. The problem is, the memories _are_ there, but they're suppressed somehow. Like someone or something purposely locked them up, and we don't have the key," the twin on the left explained.

I spoke up. "Look, nothing you're saying makes any sense. But…it seems really far-fetched that six guys I've never met before would just make all this up. And I can't ignore that weird mind-meld or whatever that just went on. So…is this for real?" I asked hesitantly.

"You really don't remember us?" The tall blond asked sadly.

"No...sorry, Milord." I felt like I had to apologize. For some reason, I hated seeing him so disappointed.

The blond cracked a smile. "It's Tamaki. Milord is just kind of a nickname the twins – Hikaru and Kaoru, by the way – have for me, and it doesn't sound right coming from you," he said bemusedly.

"Oh. Sorry," I apologized again.

"You can, however, call me king," Tamaki said, beginning to sparkle.

"Um..." I wasn't sure if this guy was serious or not. Supposedly I knew him; you'd think I'd remember someone who burst into sparkles and asked people to call him king. He sure seemed to bounce back easily, anyway.

The glasses guy smacked Tamaki over the head with a black notebook.

"Ow! Kyoya!" He protested, rubbing his head.

"Tamaki, you idiot, this is serious. We need to find out what exactly happened, and how we can get Boushi's memories back," Kyoya said, obviously annoyed. "Say, Boushi?" He turned to me.

"Yeah?"

"What exactly is the last thing you remember?" Kyoya asked.

"Um…" That was actually a tough question, now that I really thought about it. "Well, it's kind of…it's not really…it's not that I just have no memories after a certain point in time, I don't think so anyway. As far as I know, I can remember everything I should remember. My name, my age, my family, that I'm a scholarship student at Ouran High School…but all my memories since starting high school are sort of…vague. I remember being in class, eating lunch in the cafeteria, that kind of thing. But not who I sat by in class, or ate lunch with, or what I did after school…it's – it's like I'm trying to look at a photo album, but all the pictures are blurry, so I can't tell who's in them or what's going on." My head started pounding again, and I collapsed on the couch.

"I even remember what we talked about in class today, but I have no idea how I got to this room. Ohhhh, I'm so confused. Can someone just explain what's going on?"

"Well, it all started on that fateful day you walked into Music Room 3," Tamaki began dramatically.

…

"So…I'm a cross-dressing, monster-fighting, telekinetic _host_," I summed up in disbelief.

"That's the gist of it," Hikaru – he was the one with the scar – and Kaoru confirmed.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said, shaking my head. I hadn't wanted to believe it, but when Tamaki summoned a bouquet of roses from thin air and handed it to me, I figured the rest was probably true. "How could I forget _that?_"

Silence greeted my words as the hosts thought about it, but it didn't last long. The ground started to rumble, and maniacal laughter filled the room.

"Um, is that one of those monsters you guys mentioned?" I asked nervously.

"Renge, this is not a good time!" the twins yelled.

A large, round platform rose from the floor. A girl about our age stood on top, wearing a white cropped top with pink trim and a large blue jewel on the front, and poofy white pants underneath a white skirt with the same pink trim.

"Ohhhohohoho!" the girl cackled. "You've lost your memories? Wonderful!"

I failed to see what was so wonderful about the situation, but she carried on.

"Now you must embark on a journey for the fragments of your memory, which are shaped like feathers, by the way! I could eat three bowls of rice! Where's the nearest portal to another dimension?"

The twins cut into her babbling. "Right, we almost forgot. This is Renge, the psychotic otaku who thinks she's our manager."

"Um…okay. And I want to remember you people why?"

"Don't say that! There are no memories it's okay to forget!" Renge protested.

"Renge, if you're going to quote anime at inappropriate times, please don't mix up your references," Kyoya sighed. He didn't strike me as the type to know she was quoting anime in the first place, but I guess looks can be deceiving.

"Look, as much as I'm starting to think that I'd be better off not remembering all this, shouldn't we at least try to figure out how to get my memories back? And I doubt it's going to be by travelling to other dimensions or whatever," I added when Renge looked like she was about to speak up again. Looking disappointed, she sunk back into the ground.

"The _satori_," the really big guy, Mori, said.

"The what whaty?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, yes! That makes sense, Mori-sempai!" Tamaki said, making a fist with one hand and slapping it into his other palm as if he had just thought of something. "The _satori _hit Boushi with some kind of big light, she passed out, and then woke up and forgot who we were. All of that must be related!"

"Wait, why didn't anyone mention that sooner? Shouldn't it be obvious that if some demon thing hit me with magical light, and then I lost my memories, that it's the demon's fault?" I barely knew what was going on, and I figured it out in all of three seconds.

"Well, you said the _satori_ ran off after blasting Boushi. Let's find it and beat the crap out of it. If we kill whatever has the key to Boushi's memories, that should unlock them," Hikaru decided. I sure hoped he knew what he was talking about.

Hunny, the short blond boy, spoke up. "One problem. Bun-Bun said the _satori_ isn't here anymore."

"Not here?" Tamaki asked, looking distressed. "So then what are we going to do?"

"We'll just have to wait and hope it returns soon," Kyoya said matter-of-factly. "But until it does, Boushi, we can't have you slacking off. You still have your duties as a host, regardless of what you do or don't remember. Like always, you'll be expected to show up for Host Club tomorrow, half an hour after school ends. Any questions?"

"N-no." I had quite a few, actually, but Kyoya's smile really scared me, so I kept them to myself.

I got the feeling I'd have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.


	20. Like Riding a Bicycle

When I woke up in the morning and opened my closet, I was confused for a moment when I saw Ouran's boy's uniform hanging there.

"Oh. Right. I became a guy when I started high school," I sighed, remembering what the so-called "Host Club" had told me last night. Part of me was hoping it was just a dream, but I guess I wasn't that lucky.

I put on the suit, kind of surprised I knew how to tie a tie, and headed outside to wait for the twins, even though they wouldn't be here for about ten more minutes. I would've ridden my bike, but apparently it had gotten destroyed while I was fighting a giant bird. Great.

To pass the time, I pulled out my cellphone, a gift from Tamaki, and fiddled around with it. When I opened the camera, I found dozens of pictures of me and the hosts.

There was me and one of the twins, in a room I assumed was in their house. I was wearing a dress I recognized from a design I came up with a while back, looking proud and embarrassed. There was a picture of Tamaki glomping an annoyed-looking Kyoya; Mori giving Hunny a piggyback ride; Tamaki crouching in the corner, growing mushrooms and looking depressed while Hikaru and Kaoru pointed and laughed.

Flipping through the glimpses into my forgotten life, I smiled. I didn't remember any of the moments from these pictures, but they made me happy anyway.

"Good morning, Boushi." I jumped as a voice came from directly behind me. Turning around, I saw a tall, slightly androgynous young woman with brown hair, wearing a long beige trench coat, standing inches from me.

"Who are you?" I asked nervously.

She smiled, but it didn't make me feel any more at ease. "Call me Benibara, my dear. I'm here to give you a second chance, you could say. To warn you that allying yourself with the Host Club would be a very poor decision."

"Second chance? At what? Who are you?"

"A second chance to join the Zuka Club. You don't remember me, of course, but I approached you once before. I'm afraid that the Host Club…may not be around much longer."

"What do you mean? Why not?"

Benibara sighed. "It would pain us greatly to see any harm come to a young maiden such as yourself." I noticed she didn't answer my question. "That is why I have given you this opportunity to choose again, from an unbiased standpoint. Leave Ouran, and join the Zuka Club before it is too late. We could certainly use your _talents_." She reached out a hand toward me, and I stepped back.

"Um…" I shifted apprehensively. It almost sounded like this Benibara chick was threatening me, or maybe the Host Club. And the way she said the word "talents," did she know about my supposed telekinesis?

I was saved from having to answer as the twins' limo pulled up in front of my apartment complex.

"Hey!" They yelled at Benibara, and I saw anger flash on her face as the twins got out of the car and ran over to me. "What do _you_ want?" To me, Hikaru added, "Boushi, was she bothering you?"

"I don't know, she said something about wanting me to join some Zuka thing…" I told them.

"That crap again?" Kaoru demanded. "Look, just leave her alone! She doesn't want to be a part of your club, or your love triangle thing, okay?"

Benibara crossed her arms. "Have it your way. Just know that the blame will be on your shoulders when she suffers the same fate as you." With one last distasteful sniff at Hikaru and Kaoru, she turned and sauntered down the road.

"Suffers the same…? What's she talking about?" Hikaru wondered out loud, watching her go.

"I have no clue. Before you guys got here, she said something about the Host Club not being around much longer, and to leave you guys and join the Zuka Club…that they could use my talents," I recounted.

The twins exchanged glances. "Sounds like something the others need to hear. Come on, let's go, or we're going to be late," Kaoru said.

…

When we got to school, there was no time to find the rest of the hosts, so we headed straight to homeroom. I managed to fake my way through the day, pretending like I knew all the girls who sat with me at lunch and fawned all over me. That should've given me some indication as to how Host Club would go, but the sheer…strangeness of it overwhelmed me for what I guess was the second time. I didn't realize just how many girls had so much time to waste, and that thought led me to realize just how much time I must have wasted with this club, which depressed me a little.

As a group of almost a dozen girls approached where I was sitting, I shook away my little emo raincloud and smiled. This was absurd, having to act like I had any clue what was going on, but apparently nothing short of a werewolf attack could excuse anyone from their duties. I didn't like that option, so I swallowed my pride and commenced hosting.

…

Three days later, my phone rang, and I finally got the news I had been waiting for.

"Yes?" A picture of a boy gazing up in awe at a cake bigger than he was flashed on the screen, so I knew it was Hunny.

"Bun-Bun said the _satori_ is back at school! Tama-chan's on his way to your house, he'll be there soon."

"Great. See you in a few." I hung up and glanced towards Dad's room. The hosts had failed to mention how much he knew. "Um, I'm going out. Club stuff," I yelled across my apartment.

"Be back by ten," Dad called back. He didn't sound too concerned, so I shrugged and headed outside. Seeing the limo waiting in the parking lot, I ran down the stairs and got in.

"Hey, Sempai." I realized we still hadn't told anyone about my strange encounter earlier. "Um, so this morning, while I was waiting for the twins to get me for school, someone named Benibara showed up. She said she wanted me to join the 'Zuka Club,' but it sounded like a threat." I tried to remember all the details. "She said…the Host Club might not be around much longer, that she was giving me a second chance to choose, and that my talents could be useful…then that I'd suffer the same fate as the rest of you if I declined. Which I did, and she didn't seem happy about it."

Tamaki frowned. "That does sound like a threat…what if the Zuka Club…but how could they be behind this?"

"Uh, care to explain? I don't exactly remember them."

"Well, long story short, the Zuka Club is mainly three rather creepy girls who hate men. Us especially. It's no secret, but I never would have imagined they could be the ones behind the monsters…" Tamaki explained. "I mean, that's what it sounds like from what Benibara said, but how? Why?"

I was mystified. "Heck if I know. Why do they hate the Host Club?"

Tamaki cocked his head to the side, looking thoughtful. "Well, they, ah…don't like men…so I suppose the idea behind the Host Club doesn't exactly appeal to them…but trying to destroy the school, or kill us, or whatever their goal is? That seems to be taking it too far."

I know I had lost all my memories of them, but the hosts seemed like okay people overall, albeit very…quirky, to say the least. What could they have done to make anyone hate them that much? I pondered that until we got to school, where the rest of the Host Club was already waiting.

"Last night, Kaoru and I thought of something," Hikaru started as we entered the building.

"If one of us could get ahold of the _satori _and form a psionic link with it, while the other formed one with Boushi, what if we could then create a dual link and use that to force the _satori _to unlock Boushi's mind?" Kaoru proposed while Hikaru nodded eagerly.

Kyoya nodded thoughtfully. "It could work…seeing as how we don't have any better ideas, we should try it." If a psionic link was that crazy thing they did the other night to explode my head, I wasn't too eager to do it again, but it didn't seem like we had any other options.

We wandered around seemingly aimlessly for a while with Mori in the lead, sniffing the air occasionally. Finally he stopped and we all followed suit.

"It's just around the corner," he said.

"All right, let's do this," Kaoru said, and he and his twin charged down the hall. With a sigh, Kyoya followed them, and the rest of us went after him. The first thing I noticed was the giant monkey thing standing a few yards from us, looking angry as Hikaru ran at it.

"I've got Boushi covered," Kaoru called, standing behind me, ready to form a psionic link. Meanwhile, Hikaru had thrown himself at the _satori _in a rather wolfish fashion, snatching at its head. The ape yelped and shoved him away, and ran on all fours towards the six of us.

Hunny and Mori ran to intercept it, punching and kicking so fast I could hardly see them. The _satori _seemed confused, swinging its arms around randomly and bellowing in annoyance. Finally, before the third-years could subdue it, one of its arms collided with Hunny, sending him flying down the hall.

While Mori ran to his cousin, the _satori _set its sights on me and Kaoru, streaking towards us. As it approached, fists flailing, I squeaked and ducked. Unfortunately, Kaoru hadn't reacted as quickly, and I heard his grunt as the ape smacked him in the face.

"Kaoru!" I yelled, looking back at him. He was clutching his bloody nose and staggering backward.

"Look out!" he said, pointing his other hand behind me. Turning back around, I barely managed to move out of the way in time to dodge a kick from the _satori's_ hairy monkey leg. It was ceaselessly, ferociously coming at me, and much to my surprise, my body was moving almost of its own accord, dodging and blocking the creature's attacks.

"What's going on? How am I doing this?" I yelled to the hallway at large.

"The mind forgets, but the body remembers," Mori grunted, watching the fight with interest.

"That's right, we've been teaching you martial arts so you could defend yourself. You must be protecting yourself instinctively," Hunny explained.

"Okay, that's great and all, but I don't know how much longer – oo_ph!_" Sure enough, before I had even finished the sentence, the _satori's _fist collided with my stomach, hard, knocking the breath out of me. I slammed into the wall behind me and slid down it, clutching my stomach in pain. I braced myself for a world of hurt as the ape jumped at me to finish me off.

When the attack never came, I looked up, still gasping for breath, and saw Tamaki standing over me, arms up to block the blows. When he had an opening, the blond stuck his arms out and shot a bolt of energy at the _satori_, and it flew backward, where Hikaru leapt on its back and grabbed its head.

"You saved me!" I exclaimed, finding my footing and throwing my arms around Tamaki.

"Oh, yes, it, ah, it was nothing," Tamaki stammered, awkwardly returning the hug. I stepped back and looked up into his face, which was beet red. I remembered what Mori had said – _the mind forgets, but the body remembers._ I had hugged my upperclassman impulsively, without thinking, but were we not really that close?

"Kaoru, now!" Hikaru had managed to place his hands of either side of the beast's head, and Kaoru lunged and did the same to me. Something seemed to pass between me and the _satori_, just on the edge of vision, and I cried out in pain before collapsing on Tamaki as darkness closed in on me.

…

For the second time in less than a week, I woke up in Music Room 3 surrounded by the Host Club. I realized I must have gotten my memories back because I blushed furiously when I saw Tamaki – I'd hugged him earlier, something I wouldn't have done had I not forgotten him, hence the color rushing to my cheeks.

"You all right, Bou-chan?" Hunny asked.

"Um, yeah." I shook my head to clear it. "I still feel like someone's throwing bricks at my head, but at least I remember you guys…oh wait, that's not a bright side."

"Hardy har har," the twins chorused. "Glad to have you back."

**A/N: 20 chapters...DUDES. That's a big milestone for me. And now we're almost two-thirds of the way through Ghost Club! I'm excited, because I have a lot of awesomeness in store...but I don't want it to end! D: Does anyone have any ideas for one-shots? Even if it's totally silly or crazy, I'd love to hear it. Anyway, mucho thank you to everyone who's made it this far, hope you'll stick with me to the end, and please review and let me know what you think! Until next week!~ ^.^**


	21. His Time of the Month

Another night, another demon. Tonight, we were partnered up to look for it. It was something called an _aobozu,_ and we'd been searching for what felt like at least an hour. So, here I was, patrolling with the twins, who were in identical bad moods.

"This is dumb, we've been wandering around forever, and we still haven't found the stupid demon. Why do we even need to be here?" Kaoru complained.

Hikaru was silent, rubbing his temples. Kaoru glanced sideways at his twin. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Hikaru looked up at him. "I've got this splitting headache, and I...oh, no."

We had to backtrack a few steps, as Hikaru had suddenly stopped walking and was gazing in horror out the window.

"What is it?" I asked, looking out onto the grounds, clearly illuminated by the light of the full moon, trying to see what Hikaru was looking…at…

"Oh, crap!" I exclaimed. Somehow, none of us had realized tonight was the full moon, and now we didn't even know where Kyoya was to place a ward on Hikaru.

"What are we going to do?" I asked nervously, backing up as Hikaru fell to all fours, his pained groans turning to growls, fur sprouting from every inch of his skin. He let out a howl and turned to us, ready to pounce, his olive eyes feral and wild.

Before he could strike, a high-pitched scream rent the air, and a girl toppled out from behind a curtain a few yards away and fell on her back. Seeing an easier target, Hikaru turned around and leapt at the frightened girl, who screamed again, trying to scramble away, but Hikaru was too fast.

"No!" I yelled, jumping at Hikaru. Crashing into the werewolf from behind, I managed to knock him away from the girl. Unfortunately, I landed on his back, and he rolled over so that he was on top of me. I tried to push him off, but he was too heavy. Hikaru snarled, lunging in for the kill, and I was sure I was a goner.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself, but the blow never came. Hesitantly opening one eye, I saw Kaoru on Hikaru's back, his palms clasped on either side of the werewolf's head.

"I'm sorry, Hikaru," he said, and with that, Hikaru passed out - right on top of me, but hey, better than getting clawed to death.

Kaoru climbed off the doggy pile and dragged his brother off of me.

"Thanks," I said, getting back to my feet.

"Never thought I'd have to do that to Hikaru," Kaoru mused somberly.

I didn't know what to say to that, so I focused my attention on the girl that Hikaru had attacked, who was sitting against the wall hyperventilating. Now that I got a good look at her, I saw that it was Kairi Okano, the twins' regular from my class. I crouched next to her and tried to calm her down.

"It's okay, it's not going to hurt you now."

"What - what - what happened to Hikaru?" she asked, looking up at me, eyes wide.

"Hey, you're Kairi, right?" Kaoru interrupted, walking over to us.

"Y-yeah, that's me," she confirmed.

"What were you doing here?" Kaoru questioned her.

"Um, well, I left my bag at school, and I need it to do my homework for tomorrow, so I came to get it, and then I saw you guys and I was wondering what you were doing, so I, um, followed you," she explained, looking embarrassed.

"What were you thinking?" Kaoru suddenly exploded. "Why on earth would you just follow us around the school in the middle of the night?"

"I-I-I just-" Kairi stammered, looking startled.

"Kaoru, calm down, it's not like she could have known why we were here," I scolded him.

"That doesn't matter, she almost got herself killed!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry, I was just-" Kairi started, but Kaoru walked over to her, leaned down, placed his index fingers on her temples, and she fainted.

"Kaoru, you can't just-"

"Relax. I cleared her mind and put her to sleep so she could have a peaceful rest," Kaoru said wearily.

I smiled. "You were worried about her, weren't you?"

"Shut up. She was just getting on my nerves." Kaoru denied it, but he blushed a little.

"Whatever you say," I said, dropping the subject. They acted like they didn't care about anything but each other, but the twins could be nice guys when they wanted to. "What are we going to do about her?"

Kaoru opened his mouth to answer, but just then Tamaki and Kyoya ran down the hall.

"Boushi! Kaoru! We were looking for the demon, and then we realized it's the full moon! Hikaru-"

"Yeah, we know. Great timing, Milord." Kaoru rolled his eyes, gesturing at the unconscious werewolf and girl on the ground.

"Oh, well, I see you have the situation under control. Hey, isn't that Kairi Okano from Host Club?" Tamaki asked. "What happened to her?"

"Long story. Do you think you could find her bag and take her back to her house?" I asked him.

"Um, sure." Tamaki looked confused, but he agreed.

"Kyoya, could you go ahead and place a ward on Hikaru?" Kaoru asked.

"Of course." Kyoya nodded and pulled out his notebook. He wrote something down, and Hikaru began to glow with a bright white light, and when it cleared, he had changed into a small brown wolf. "That ward should hold every night until the moon wanes, but I'll come over in the evenings to make sure. He'll still be a wild animal, but conscious of his actions, more in control of himself."

"Thanks, Kyoya," Kaoru said. "I'm gonna head home now." Looking exhausted, Kaoru scooped up the slumbering wolf and walked off without another word.

"If you two will be all right on your own, I'll go ahead and take Kairi home now," Tamaki offered.

"Hunny-sempai and Mori-sempai are still out there somewhere, we'll be fine. Her bag's probably somewhere in one of the first-year classrooms."

Tamaki nodded, gently picked Kairi up, and started down the hall after Kaoru. I couldn't help but think it was a good thing Kairi was a fan of the twins rather than Tamaki, otherwise she'd be sleeping right through her dream come true.

"So, did you really forget about the full moon?" I asked Kyoya as we wandered the school, on the lookout for the demon and the third-years. "I mean, I would have thought you'd have a lunar calendar or something so that this wouldn't happen."

Kyoya sighed. "Regrettably, that isn't the case. I did forget about Hikaru's condition until after we had already split up. It's a difficult thing to adjust to, for all of us."

I nodded, surprised Kyoya had admitted he had forgotten without sounding the least bit annoyed I had suggested it. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to it," I admitted. I still had to suppress a twinge of guilt every time I thought about my part in Hikaru's "condition," as Kyoya put it, despite everyone's insistence that I shouldn't let it get to me.

Kyoya looked like he knew what I was thinking, but said nothing. Finally, we came across Hunny and Mori, who looked like they had been in a fight but had come out mostly unharmed.

"Bou-chan! Kyo-chan!" Hunny exclaimed, running over to us. "You guys weren't paired up with each other, where's everyone else?"

"They, ah, had to go home," Kyoya said simply.

"Okay." Hunny accepted the explanation without question, even though he could probably tell there was more to it than that. "Well, Takashi and I killed the baddie, so I guess we can all go home now too."

"Sounds like a good idea," I said. "Oh, can someone take me home? My ride left." The twins had volunteered to drive me tonight, but it didn't look like that would be happening.

"We can take you," Hunny volunteered.

"Thanks, Sempai," I sighed. All I could do at this point was hope that this would get easier for all of us over time.


	22. Surprises

Despite being in the middle of his monthly…um…condition, Hikaru was able to come to school the next day. There was obviously something different about him, however, starting with the orange hair sprouting from his upper lip.

"It's not fair," Kaoru pouted on the way to school, "we're twins. How come he's started growing a mustache before me?"

"I'm obviously the more mature twin," Hikaru said, stroking all twelve of the hairs in his mustache. "Kyoya mentioned something about this. Yet another manly aftereffect of being a werewolf, I suppose."

I was relieved Hikaru was taking his situation so well. He hadn't given any indication that he was bitter about what had happened. "For all you know, it'll fall out in a few days," I teased.

Kaoru joined in. "Yeah, that'd show you!"

Hikaru feigned depression, looking uncannily like Tamaki when he was in his emo corner. "You guys are so cruel," he sniffled.

"Truth hurts," Kaoru said, shrugging.

As it turned out, Hikaru's mustache was a hit at the Host Club. Given that it was microscopic, I didn't see the big deal, but I didn't see what the big deal was about most of the things these girls flipped out over.

"Yes, I just started growing it out, isn't it impressive?" Hikaru said proudly, and there was general agreement and squealing all around. I just rolled my eyes and focused on my own guests, who were probably wondering when I'd start growing my own manly 'stache. Hope they didn't have their hearts set on that or anything.

After club, Hikaru left to use the bathroom (stare at his wanna-be facial hair, more likely) as we started cleaning up. Just before we finished, Kaoru stopped what he was doing and stared at the door with an odd look on his face. As it opened, he said, "What's up, Hikaru?"

Hikaru wandered in, looking distracted. "Huh? Oh, nothing."

Kaoru narrowed his eyes. "Don't lie to me. What were you really doing?"

Hikaru blushed. "I just said, nothing!"

Suddenly, Kaoru's eyes widened. "You – Kairi – she – you–?"

"What in the world is going on here?" I asked.

"Stupid twin telepathy," Hikaru grumbled, turning a darker shade of red. "Yeah, okay, fine. I was talking to Kairi. She was there last night, when I turned into a werewolf, right? She said it shook her up pretty badly, but it didn't change the way she felt about me. Kaoru, she passed the test," he added to his brother, who looked surprised, and then annoyed again.

"Well…that doesn't mean you can go around dating girls without telling me! Did that werewolf attack mess up your brain or something?" he exclaimed.

"Kaoru, listen to me. If anything, it helped me realize something: we'll always be twins, but we're our own people. We can't share everything." Hikaru touched his scar lightly before continuing. "We have to learn to function without each other, because we won't always be joined at the hip."

Kaoru crossed his arms and sighed. "I know, I know…that doesn't mean I like it."

Hikaru smiled. "I know, it sucks. We need to find other things, other people that are important to us too." He walked over to his twin and gave him a hug. "But it doesn't mean I love you any less."

Kaoru hugged his brother back and I smiled, hoping that no matter how far away from each other life took them, they Hitachiin brothers would always be this close.

As the twins broke apart, Kyoya looked up from his notebook. "I hate to spoil the moment, but Boushi, I see your birthday's coming up in a few days?"

I inwardly groaned. "Yeah." I had kind of been hoping they wouldn't find out. I mean, sure, for some dumb reason, I loved these guys, but the last thing I wanted was them showing up at my apartment and trying to throw me a birthday party. There were just so many ways that could go horribly wrong. "You guys don't need to get me anything. It's not that big of a deal, and I'd probably end up having to pay for it anyway," I quickly added.

"Not that big of a deal? It's not every day you turn sixteen!" Tamaki put in.

"We'll have to eat cake, at least! Lots and lots of cake!" Hunny exclaimed, eyes wide and excited.

"Well…okay, cake is fine…but I don't need anything, really. I'll be perfectly happy with a very low maintenance birthday," I insisted.

Tamaki shrugged. "Whatever you say."

I knew him well enough to know that he was probably already planning something ridiculous. To my surprise, however, they didn't even mention my birthday again until that Saturday, the day before I turned sixteen.

I was on my way to Host Club, counting down the hours until I could go home and relax for the weekend. Absentmindedly, I pushed the doors open, and jumped about a foot in the air when dozens of people popped out of nowhere and yelled "SURPRISE!"

I looked around, trying to get my heart to start beating again. A banner that read _Happy Birthday_ was strung up on the far wall, purple balloons were tied to every chair, and red velvet cakes occupied the tables. I was still trying to take it all in when Hunny glomped me so hard I almost fell over.

"Happy birthday, Bou-chan! Did you see the cake? I like all kinds of cake, but Kyoya found out that red velvet is your favorite, so we made that. Ready to eat? Can I have some?" He gazed up at me with eyes as big as saucers, and I smiled at him.

"Go on, Sempai, have all the cake you want."

"Yaaaay! Happy birthday!" He dashed off to a table and started on a whole three-tier cake. I looked up at the rest of the Host Club, gathered together around a large box wrapped in shiny gold paper, standing in the front of the crowd of girls.

"This if from all of us. We know you said you didn't want anything," Hikaru started.

"But we kind of owe you one. Don't even think of it as a birthday present," Kaoru finished.

"Open it!" They said together, grinning.

I shook my head and laughed. "You guys. This is great, thank you."

"You haven't even opened your gift yet," Hikaru pointed out.

"I know, I just meant this whole thing. I know I said I wanted to keep my birthday low profile, but this is awesome." I began carefully unwrapping the box (hey, knowing these rich kids, that paper could've been real gold), and my face split into a grin when I saw what was inside.

"I guess I don't have to worry about how I'm going to get such a big present home." It was a brand-new bike, and a very manly one I might add. It was red and black, and didn't even have streamers. "Thanks so much, you guys."

"And the best part is, it's interest free," Kyoya noted. Tamaki elbowed him and he added, "Well, completely free."

I laughed. "Sempai, did you just make a joke? Best birthday present ever. C'mere." I scooped up all of the Host Club into a group hug, and pretty soon, all of our guests swarmed in and joined us. When we finally broke up, everyone drifted over to the tables and grabbed a slice of cake and their favorite host. As the Host Club itself was really just one big party every day, _my_ party wasn't much different from any regular day at the club, but I loved it anyway.

I thought the day couldn't get much better (I guess I really was starting to enjoy being a host), but when I got home I was proven wrong. I proudly parked my new bike on the bike rack and headed upstairs, only to nearly trip over a package in the entryway.

"Oh, Boushi, that arrived for you while you were at school. It doesn't say who it's from, but there was a card," Dad told me as he walked by. I knelt down to examine it. Wrapped in plain brown paper, it wasn't too big, wasn't too small. I had no idea who it could be from, as my friends from middle school weren't coming over until tomorrow.

Thinking there might be some clue to the sender's identity inside, I opened the card. It read, _Boushi, happy birthday! Here's hoping sixteen will be the year you make everything your heart desires. __Yours Truly, Anonymous._ I laughed when I read "anonymous," as the secret was kind of ruined by the drawing of a teddy bear wearing a crown at the bottom of the card.

When I had chuckled my last, I tore through the modest brown paper and gasped. It was the latest Brother sewing machine, so new even the twins hadn't upgraded yet. I had seen it online and sighed over its computerized features, the dozens of stitches it could do, the attachments I didn't know I needed until Brother told me I did. Had I even mentioned it before? How did Tamaki know how much I wanted it?

And that wasn't all. There was a smaller envelope taped to the sewing machine's box, so I pulled it off and opened it. When I saw the contents, I nearly fainted on the spot.

"Holy…holy crap…" I breathed. Inside the unassuming envelope was a gift card to Mood Japan, the store I had only ever dreamed of buying fabric at. I had never gone because it was way out of my non-existent budget, but the number on the card was one hundred_ thousand _yen. I counted the zeroes over and over to be sure, and they were still there each time in all of their fabric-buying glory. In my mind, I was already going through designs I had never thought I'd be able to make, what kind of fabric I'd make them from, the decorative stitches my new Brother could add onto them.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I scrolled through the menu until I found the text composer. Highlighting Tamaki's contact, I typed, _Thank. You. So. Much._

Almost immediately, a reply showed up in my inbox. _:) just promise to make me something nice._

_ Anything you want. You can come help me pick out the fabric and everything._

_ I'll hold you to that. Happy birthday!_

I found myself smiling like an idiot, and I wasn't exactly sure why. I just knew that this really was the best birthday ever.

**A/N: Hmm, maybe I should write a one-shot about their trip to the fabric store? *eyebrow wiggle* That could be interesting…by the way, 100,000 yen is the equivalent of about 1,300 U.S. dollars. Mood is a real designer sewing store in New York, but I don't know if they actually have a location in Japan. As always, hope you enjoyed, and please review!**


	23. Gone

It was close to 2 a.m. when my cellphone went off, waking me up. I snatched the phone up and grumbled, "Hello?"

"Hey, Bou-chan!" Hunny greeted me, sounding way too chipper. "Sorry to call so late, but there's a bad guy at school. I'm outside your apartment building right now to pick you up, so come on!"

"I'll be right there," I mumbled sleepily, and hung up, mentally cursing the stupid Host Club. After getting dressed, I snuck out of the apartment, tip-toed downstairs, and climbed into Hunny's limo.

"Hi!" He said, waving at me from the front seat. I noticed that Mori was driving, and Hunny was sitting in the passenger's side in a car seat covered in pink bunnies.

I said something like, "Hhhmmpprgh," and promptly stretched out across the backseat and fell asleep.

Too soon, we got to school and Hunny woke me up. Yawning, I got out of the car and wiped the sleep out of my eyes. I followed the third-years to Music Room 3, where everyone else was waiting.

"Hi, Boushi!" Tamaki said cheerfully, sitting on a coffee table, looking wide awake. Hikaru and Kaoru were leaning against each other on a loveseat, trying not to fall asleep, but managed to wave blearily at me.

"Now that everyone is finally here," Kyoya said darkly from the far corner, "we can finally get this over with." He looked like he wanted to punch someone.

"What's with him?" I whispered, hoping my voice wouldn't carry all the way to the other side of the room.

"He just doesn't like being woken up. I'd advise against going anywhere near him until he's gotten some sleep, he's a little grumpy right now," Tamaki explained, waving it off like Kyoya wasn't secretly plotting the death of whoever had disturbed his slumber.

"Yes, I'm 'a little grumpy', and as such, I'd appreciate if we could hurry up," Kyoya snarled. No one wanted to prolong this, or bring Kyoya's wrath down on us, so we kept quiet and let him speak. "A demon called an _umiza _is somewhere on the school grounds. I propose we split up and search for it in order to speed things up."

"Um, Kyoya-sempai? What exactly is an _umiza_?" I asked timidly.

"According to my files," he started, leafing through his notebook, "an _umiza _plays upon its prey's worst fears and nightmares. Its appearance is unknown."

"So, it could be anywhere, look like anything, and we wouldn't even know it until it jumped out and killed us, using our worst fears." I summarized.

"Well, yes, that's the pessimistic way of looking at it." Tamaki admitted.

"Can we just get on with this?" Kyoya sighed.

"I call Boushi!" Tamaki cried, grabbing onto my arm.

I shrugged. "I guess I'm with Tamaki-sempai."

"We'll…" Hikaru interrupted himself with a huge yawn.

"Look for the _umiza _together," Kaoru finished for him, standing up and stretching.

"Just try not to fall asleep on it, mmkay?" I told them as they wandered out into the hall.

"We'll take Kyo-chan," Hunny said, grabbing Kyoya's hand and dragging him out the door. Mori followed them, eyeing Kyoya warily.

"Good idea," I noted. If Kyoya went all psycho axe murderer, the third years had the best chance of survival.

"Well, we'd best get a move on!" Tamaki declared, getting up from his perch and heading for the door.

"Ugh, how can you be so energetic this late?" I groaned as I raced to catch up with him.

"A gentleman must be ready for anything, no matter what the hour!" Tamaki explained cheerily.

"Of course. You know, I think you just make this stuff up."

"Never! A gentleman doesn't make anything up."

I rolled my eyes. "Right."

"It's true!"

"Because you said it, and you're a gentleman, and gentlemen don't make things up," I said, twirling my index finger in a circle to indicate Tamaki's strange cycle of logic.

"Precisely," Tamaki confirmed with a nod. He shot me a sidelong glance, as if pondering something, then started to speak again. "Boushi, there's –"

"Shh! Shh!" I suddenly stopped in my tracks, motioning for Tamaki to shut up and stop walking.

"What is that?" I whispered. I could've sworn I heard – there it was again! Another set of footsteps!

"It's probably just Kyoya or one of the others." Tamaki said, looking behind us.

"But what would they be doing down here? There's a reason we split up," I argued. "Do you think it could be…" I trailed off. The footsteps were getting closer.

"Who are you?" Tamaki asked nervously. I turned around to see who he was talking to and caught a glimpse of an old man, then there was a blinding flash of light.

"What was that?" I wondered out loud, wincing. No answer. "Tamaki-sempai?"

I blinked the spots out of my eyes and gasped.

Tamaki was gone – and so was Ouran Academy.

**A/N: Happy birthday to me, I love Tamaki~ *ahem* That's right, today is my sweet sixteen :) And I had the nerdiest party ever! But anyway - I know this chapter is really short compared to how much I usually write, but it leads into two of my favorite chapters in Ghost Club...and review anyway. Because I say so. Kaythanksbye. ^.^**


	24. Reality Check

Okay, maybe the school itself wasn't gone – but I definitely wasn't there anymore, and Tamaki was nowhere to be seen. I was in a small, cozy kitchen, but it seemed oddly large at the same time, as if I was in a giant's house. The walls were painted a cheery blue color, and the counters were cluttered with food and dishes, like someone had abandoned a meal halfway through cooking it. A door stood in the dining room, which led to my parent's room – wait, what?

As I looked at my familiar surroundings, everything began to make sense, in a convoluted sort of way. This was the house I had lived in until I was five years old, before…

"Good morning, Boushi."

I caught my breath and froze. There was my mother, sitting at the table, which I was sure had been unoccupied only moments before. Her hair, red like mine, but longer, was tied up in a bun on top of her head. It should have unnerved me that her smile didn't reach her green eyes, which usually sparkled with happiness, but that was the last thing on my mind.

"M-mom?" I whispered. "But you're…you're dead."

"Dead? What a terrible thing to say, what would make you think that?" my mother inquired. No, it couldn't be her, but…there she was, sitting there at our old table, in our old kitchen, in the house I hadn't lived in for a decade.

"The fact that you died ten years ago?" It sounded like a question, like I wasn't so sure of what was fact anymore.

"Boushi, dear, you're only five years old. I'm very much alive, I think you must have had a bad dream," my mother said, looking confused.

"Five years…?" I said slowly, looking at myself for the first time since I had arrived wherever I was. Of course. I was five years old, Mom wasn't dead, what was I talking about? She was right, it was just a bad dream. Smiling, I pulled myself up onto a chair next to her. For some reason, I felt like I hadn't seen my mother in a long time. It must have had something to do with that dream.

She ruffled my hair. "Run along and play now, Mommy's going to make us some dinner, okay?"

"Okay!" I agreed happily, ignoring the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something wasn't right as I raced into the living room. The cutting table was out, so I pulled up a stool to stand on and see what Mom was making now.

While some kids played with dolls and stacked blocks, I was learning to sew on a little machine I'd just gotten for my birthday. Pattern instructions were my bedtime stories. Humming to myself, I traced the cut edges of the fabric with my finger, mentally putting the pieces together like a puzzle to figure out what the garment would look like when it was done.

I was distracted from my task by the sound of the door opening. "Daddy!" I exclaimed excitedly, abandoning the fabric to run to the front hallway. "Oh. You're not Daddy," I said disappointedly.

A tall boy with golden hair stood in the doorway, gazing down at me in confusion. "It can't be…you look like…Boushi?"

I cocked my head to the side. "How do you know my name, Gold Hair-san?"

He squatted down so he could look me in the eyes. "So you are Boushi? Ah, would you mind telling me where I am?"

"My house. Where else would you be?" I asked.

"Where else indeed…" he murmured, straightening up and looking around. "There must be some reason I'm here…but what on earth is going on?"

"So you don't even know why you're here? You aren't very bright, are you, Gold Hair-san?"

The boy raised an eyebrow, looking at me bemusedly. "You're definitely Boushi."

"I already said that," I complained. "You're weird."

"Yes, I believe you've mentioned that once or twice…or you will…never mind." He stepped into the living room and peered down the hall. "The _umiza _must be around here somewhere, it's probably creating an illusion," he said to himself. "But what does this have to do with my worst fears or nightmares?"

"Stop saying gibberish!" I protested.

"Boushi, who's this?" My mother had walked into the living room, a large wooden spoon in her hand.

"Mom! This is Gold Hair-san, I don't know what he's doing here and apparently neither does he," I explained.

The boy turned around, looking at my mother strangely, then at me, and back to her, as if making a connection. "Mom?" he repeated curiously.

"Hmm, I see. Well, I suppose this is what they call killing two birds with one stone," she said. "The girl first, then you, 'Gold Hair-san.' Yes, that would be appropriate."

"Mom?" I said nervously, as her form began to sputter like a TV with bad reception. I stared in horror as her image faded away, to be replaced with that of a gaunt old man with an evil glint in his black eyes. He smiled mirthlessly at us and I screamed. "What did you do with my mom?"

The golden haired boy stepped in front of me and I hid behind his long legs. "So you're the _umiza_," he said disgustedly.

"That I am," the old man said with a nod. "As luck would have it, your fears are very closely intertwined. Thank you for making this easy, young man." With that, he raised his hands, and fire sprang up out of nowhere, engulfing everything. My eyes widened and I tried to scream again but no sound came out. I was feeling dizzy with déjà vu, and all I knew was that I was going to die here, just like she had.

The boy spread out his arms and a translucent barrier formed around us, sealing us away from the fire. "I don't think so," he said, and with a flick of his wrists, large ribbons of flame curled up from the blazing furniture and spiraled at the _umiza._

At the last second, its image shifted again, and it took the form of a familiar looking girl, about the boy's age, with short red hair and blue eyes. The boy gasped and hesitated; the flames he had been directing stopped short, and the barrier flickered away. The girl grinned, and suddenly the fiery ribbons shot back at the golden haired boy. He held up his hands and managed to block the grunt of the blow, but a sliver of fire made contact with his face and he cried out, stumbling backward.

"No!" I cried, running to him. When I looked back, the _umiza _was an old man once more and the flames were closing in. The boy regained his focus and set the barrier back up, not a moment too soon. Breathing heavily, hardly able to stand up from the strain of exerting so much energy, he raised his arms and sent the fire at the old man once more, not stopping as it changed forms this time.

Some part of me was screaming _look away_, as if I knew what was coming, but it was like a train wreck. Knowing it was beaten, fear flashed in the _umiza's _eyes, my mother's eyes, as she was engulfed in flames. With its last breath, the _umiza_ let out an inhuman screech as the golden haired boy scooped me up in his arms and held me to his chest, running out of the burning house as fast as his feet would carry him.


	25. When Lines Begin to Blur

**A/N: Thine eyes do not decieve thee, I am indeed updating on a Wednesday! I've almost completely finished writing Ghost Club all the way to the final chapter (sadness) so I figured I didn't want to make you guys wait like two months for the end. So from now on I'll be updating Wednesdays when I get home from school and Saturdays around noon-ish!**

I had no idea where we were, or where we were going, and I didn't care. The scene, the memory, played and replayed itself in my mind over and over until I felt like I was going crazy. The world had turned upside down, nothing made sense anymore, I couldn't take it.

I don't remember when the illusion ended, just suddenly being aware that I was sixteen again, standing at Ouran High School sobbing uncontrollably into Tamaki's shirt while he hugged me and whispered comforting words into my ear. Since my mother's funeral, I had tried to be strong, to never let anyone see me at my worst. It had been ten years since I had cried this uninhibitedly. I had forgotten it was possible to cry so hard.

Maybe it was the horror of reliving her death, maybe every tear I had ever stopped myself from shedding had built up until I couldn't hold back anymore, maybe both. All I knew was the tumble of emotions that I couldn't stop from spilling out of me.

It might have been minutes later, it might have been hours, but finally, the storm was over, and I took deep, shuddering breaths to steady myself. I looked up, leaning back a little to meet Tamaki's gaze. He smiled down at me.

"It's okay now," he said softly. "It's over."

I tried to say something, anything, but a flock of butterflies had been loosed in my stomach, and evidently, I'd forgotten how to speak. Acutely aware of the arms holding me close, I finally found my voice when I saw the large, raw, red spot on Tamaki's face.

"Sempai, you're hurt!" I gasped.

He blinked. "What? Oh, my face, it's nothing, I - ow!" he protested as I reached up and touched the burn.

"Sempai, we need to get you to the nurse's office," I told him.

"I don't think the nurse is going to be there."

"Of course not, but there'll be medicine, stupid."

"I really don't need-"

"Tamaki, please!"

He looked taken aback for some reason.

"Okay, fine," he agreed.

We walked quietly down the hall until Tamaki broke the silence.

"Boushi? Stop me if I'm prying, but...that was your mother, right? That the _umiza _took the form of?" he asked cautiously.

"Mm-hmm."

"And, um...the fire, did that have anything to do with..."

"How she died, yeah," I finished for him. "We lived in that house until it burned down when I was five. Mom was making dinner one day while Dad was at work, and she left something on a burner and forgot about it, and the fire spread, and..." I trailed off.

"I'm sorry. About your mother, and for intruding on memories you didn't want to share," Tamaki apologized quietly.

I shrugged. "That's not it. It's not like I'm not ready to talk about it or anything, it's just that I don't want to burden people with my problems. I don't want to rely on someone else to carry my baggage for me."

Tamaki sighed. "You don't get it, do you? What's the point of having friends if you can't share your problems with them? You're a strong girl, Boushi, but you don't have to deal with everything alone. Sometimes, it takes more strength to admit when you're weak than to pretend you're not. If you ever need anything, someone to talk to, the entire Host Club is here for you. I'm here for you," He added after a moment's hesitation.

I wasn't sure how to reply, so I didn't say anything. I felt like I had just been taken down a notch, off my high and mighty I-don't-need-anyone pedestal. Under different circumstances, I probably would have been angry that I had been called out, but instead I was almost grateful. Someone had just told me exactly what I would have never admitted that I had needed to hear.

When we got to the nurse's office, we rifled through the drawers and cabinets until I found some medicine.

"All right, sit down and let me put this on your burn," I instructed Tamaki.

"I can do it myself," he said.

"Sempai, just shut up and let me help."

Tamaki held his hands up in surrender, pulled a chair out from underneath the desk, and sat down. I squeezed some of the salve onto my fingers and started to rub it onto his face.

"Tamaki-sempai?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

He looked at me silently, waiting. I had never been comfortable verbally expressing gratitude like this, but Tamaki had not only already seen me cry, something I couldn't say about anyone outside of my family, he hadn't judged me for it. I was terrified that someone would find out I have basic human emotions and look at me with condescension, or think I was weak, but he had shown nothing but respect and kindness. He deserved my thanks. I took a deep breath and continued.

"For...tonight. If you hadn't been there, I don't know. You saved me, and you were the only reason I could hold onto my sanity after everything that happened. And every other time you were there for me. I just realized how much I appreciate that. So...thanks." I looked down, embarrassed by how much I still couldn't bring myself to admit. Maybe someday I could tell him that he and his dumb club were helping me to see that having someone know you completely, even the bad parts, the weak parts, wasn't such a horrible thing. But for now, I had too much pride, so he would just have to wait until I was strong enough to be that humble.

Tamaki stood up and hooked a finger under my chin, turning my face up so I was looking into his eyes. He slid his free arm around my waist.

"Boushi...I–"

Just then, the door slammed open, the lights went on, and two identical voices yelled, "There you guys are! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Startled, I jumped backward, crashing painfully into the island counter behind me. Tamaki was blushing, and, heart racing a mile a minute, I felt myself blush too.

"What were you doing in here, anyway?" Hikaru asked curiously.

"Knowing Milord, something shady," Kaoru said.

Tamaki turned a deeper shade of crimson. "What – no! I got a burn fighting the demon, and Boushi was just putting some medicine on it!" he said, flustered.

"Wethinks the lady doth protest too much," The twins said, crossing their arms.

"Hey!" Tamaki turned to me. "Boushi, back me up here!"

"Bwuh…? Oh, um, yeah. What he said," I mumbled, trying to reign in my focus. My mind was still stuck somewhere about thirty seconds ago, just before the rest of the Host Club burst in, replaying the scene and trying to figure out what happened.

"See!" Tamaki yelled at the twins, ignorant to my dilemma.

"Okay, fine." They shrugged, bored already. "So if you're in here, does that mean you killed the _umiza_?"

"Yeah," Tamaki confirmed, "more than you useless doppelgangers can say."

Hikaru and Kaoru stuck their tongues out at Tamaki, who responded in kind. If I wasn't so out of it, I would have made fun of them, but those butterflies were back and my head was spinning with all that had happened tonight. "Can we go home now?" I asked.

"Good idea," Kyoya said from the doorway.

"I can take you," Tamaki offered, and I nodded blearily.

I had no idea how late it had gotten until I walked outside and saw the horizon lightening in the distance. I groaned, knowing I had school in the morning – or rather, in a few hours – and that I wouldn't be getting any sleep.

Tamaki opened the limo door for me and I crawled in. In a departure from the usual, he got in after me, instead of getting in the front seat. Maybe he could tell I needed a pillow. I closed my eyes and leaned on him, and he slipped his arm around my shoulders as the driver pulled out of the driveway.

I was about to pass out when a thought drifted across my mind. "Sempai?" I murmured sleepily.

"Yes?"

"The _umiza_…any idea what it meant when it said our fears were intertwined?" It was probably a personal question, but after a few moments of silence, he answered anyway.

"I'm terribly afraid of losing my friends. I don't know what I'd do without you. And so I suppose that since the _umiza _killing you was a very real possibility, I found my way to the illusion it created." He sighed and placed his free hand on mine. "I can't tell you how glad I am that you're all right."

I smiled faintly. It had been a long night, but I was in safe hands now, so I didn't fight sleep as it crept up and finally won me over.

**A/N: This chapter and the last one, you would not believe how many times I've re-written them. They were some of the first chapters of Ghost Club I thought of and wrote, before I had fleshed out all the little details of the story (believe it or not, I think this used to be chapter 18), so they needed to be edited any time anything plot-relevant changed. Couple that with the fact that when I first started Ghost Club, my writing skills…left a little to be desired…well, these chapters have definitely evolved. They're important, at least to me, and I'm happy with how they turned out. But what do you guys think? Because you can let me know with that little review doohickey down there…thanks!**


	26. Well, Crap

**A/N: Happy Easter, everyone! I'm at yet another convention this weekend, so I was lucky just to get a chance to update. So consider _yourselves _lucky to get one! ;) **

It was lunchtime, and I was scanning the cafeteria for a spot. Usually I sat with the twins, but today I saw a rare empty seat next to a familiar blond, surrounded by a familiar crowd of fangirls, and I decided to take it.

When I reached the table, I tapped Tamaki on his shoulder.

"Hey Sempai, mind if I–" I was interrupted by a flash of yellow and brown, a brunette moving at inhuman speed, squeezing into the spot next to Tamaki.

"Tama-chaaaaaan!" she squealed.

"Good morning, Fujioka-san," Tamaki greeted her cheerfully. Turning around, he added, "Oh, Boushi, did you need something?"

"Um…" What_ was_ I doing over here? Since when did I sit with Tamaki? He had his guests to entertain, even at lunch, and I had mine. "No, never mind," I said, shaking my head and going over to my usual table. Tamaki shrugged and waved as Fujioka made annoying squealy noises and hugged him.

"Hey guys, girls," I said to my table in general as I sat down across from the twins.

"Hey Boushi," Kaoru returned the greeting, elbowing Hikaru, who was deep in conversation with Kairi.

"Hi," Hikaru said, quickly glancing in my direction before returning his focus to Kairi. Kaoru was obviously annoyed at his brother, but I smiled. They were cute together, and sooner or later Kaoru would find someone of his own and understand.

"So, who's that girl over there by Tamaki-sempai, the one with the long brown hair?" I gestured in their direction, taking a bite of my sandwich. "I haven't seen her before."

Kaoru looked over at them. "Haruhi Fujioka…I think she's a transfer student from Lobelia or something, but I'm not sure. Kyoya could probably tell you. Why do you ask?"

I shrugged, not really sure why her sudden appearance bugged me. "No reason."

Later that afternoon, Haruhi was the first to arrive at Host Club and glommed onto Tamaki the entire time, fawning over him and squealing and generally being annoying. Her incessant cries of "Tama-chaaaan!" made it rather hard to concentrate on my own guests.

"And when we get married, we'll have twenty children, and live in a big house, and eat fancy tuna at every meal!" she cried, clutching Tamaki's arm and gazing up into his eyes, her own brown ones wide.

"Twenty children? That seems like a lot," Tamaki chuckled.

"However many you want is fine with me, Tama-chan," Haruhi cooed complacently, and I felt a little part of my brain curl up and die on the spot.

"Are you okay, Bou?" Shizuka asked, evidently having adopted Hunny's nickname for me.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Well, your eye was getting all twitchy…"

I shook my head to clear it. "Um, no, I'm fine. Anyway, where were we?"

Unfortunately, Haruhi wasn't just a fly; irritating, but gotten rid of as easily as with a shake of the head. A whole week dragged by, the most excruciating of my life. I felt like punching something every time I saw Haruhi with Tamaki. Finally, one night, it hit me – there could only be one explanation for Haruhi's inhuman fangirl noises, her supernatural powers of annoyance, and the sudden violent urges I got when she was around. Heart sinking, I sent out a mass text to all the hosts, leaving Tamaki's contact out of the recipient list.

_Meet at school ASAP. Urgent!_

…

"I call this top-secret, impromptu meeting of the Host Club to order!" I cried when everyone, sans Tamaki, had gathered in Music Room 3.

"Sheesh, Boushi, chill, you're acting like Milord," Hikaru said.

"As queen of the Host Club, I call this meeting to order!" Kaoru mimicked in a high-pitched voice, cocking his hips to one side in what I assume was his imitation of a girl. Normally I would've been able to laugh along with them, but this was serious business.

"Speaking of, where _is_ Milord?" Hikaru asked.

"He wasn't invited to the top-secret, impromptu meeting because the matter we're discussing concerns him," I grumbled. "He's in danger, but the female attention being showered on him is blinding him to the truth – that Haruhi Fujioka is, in fact, a demon!" I declared, pointing straight ahead of me, my other hand coming to rest on my hip in a fist as if I was in a front stance.

Dead silence followed my words for a moment, then the twins burst into hysterical laughter, leaning on each other so they didn't collapse. Even more irritating was Kyoya's look of detached amusement at my announcement.

"What…are you serious?" Hikaru asked, howling with laughter. "Oh boy, if only you could see yourself right now, Milord is rubbing off on you…"

"A demon? Seriously? And what's with that _pose?_" Kaoru cackled.

"It's not funny! How can you not see it? She's all over him, all the time, always making weird noises and…" I was racking my brain, but I couldn't think of anything else. "…just being creepy! She's _evil!_"

Hikaru wiped a tear of mirth from his eye and shook his head. "No, she's a teenage girl. More annoying than most, but not evil. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

"Because she has to be a monster, why else would her being around bother me so much? Maybe I'm developing a sixth sense for –" Suddenly, I could see light bulbs going off over everyone's heads. "What, what is it?"

"Boushi..." Hikaru began slowly.

"Do you think maybe..." his twin continued.

"Just possibly," Hikaru added cautiously.

"You're..." Kaoru glanced at his brother nervously.

"Jealous?" they asked together.

I was momentarily stunned into silence. "Jealous? Me? Me, jealous?" I finally sputtered. Hunny and Mori exchanged infuriatingly knowing looks. "That's completely absurd!" I cried, my voice reaching a pitch only the Host Club could bring out in me. "Fine, if you're not going to take me seriously, I'm going home!" I stormed out, ignoring the protests of the hosts I left behind. Suddenly, I just wanted to be alone.

Jumping on my bike, I raced home, concentrating on the sting of the cool night air on my face, trying to ignore the twins' jealousy comment. I got to my apartment complex, hopped off my bike, ran upstairs, crept through the front door, and locked myself in my room, collapsing fully clothed on my bed.

"Jealous," I scoffed to myself. I couldn't be jealous, that would mean I liked the blond dolt or something. Tamaki was stupid, narcissistic, annoying, maudlin, manic depressive...but...

He was also one of the kindest people I'd ever met. He made me laugh, he always knew what to say to make me feel better, and even had moments when he seemed wise beyond his years. I remembered his birthday present to me, our trip to Mood Japan, the night the _umiza_ had tried to kill us and he had protected me, comforted me, let me open up and didn't judge me…

I sat straight up in bed, eyes wide, as something clicked. Wait…how…when had I started thinking like that? The last thing I remembered, Tamaki was some idiot who thought I was a boy…and now he was kind, funny, _wise? _We were going shopping together?Had something happened in the short time in between that I hadn't noticed?

But no, it hadn't been such a short time after all…a quick glance at my calendar confirmed it, it had been almost six months now, the school year was nearly halfway over.

As I recalled everything I'd been through with the Host Club in the time that had seemed to fly by so quickly, a reminiscent smile crossed my face, occasionally souring into a grimace. Sure, when I had first joined the Host Club, I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do less, but gradually, I had gotten used to it – pretending to be a guy, fighting monsters, everything. More than that, I had grown to enjoy it, and to love those idiots.

"Gah!" Caught off guard by my own thoughts, I fell out of bed, flustered. I had almost forgotten what had me so stressed out in the first place until the word _love _crossed my mind.

"Okay, so I don't _hate_ him," I mumbled to myself, standing up and beginning to pace. "Maybe I like him. But there's no way I could have fallen for him! I'm nothing like those dopey girls who fawn all over him at the Host Club just because he's good looking. I mean, it's not like that's his only good trait or anything, but –" Suddenly realizing where I was going with this, I stopped myself from finishing the thought. There I went again!

"Ohhh no," I moaned, slumping over in defeat. This couldn't be happening. Why hadn't I seen it coming? Hugging him when I'd lost my memories should have been my first clue. After all, when I didn't have any preconceived notions of his idiocy, and I just thought he was just a nice guy who would do anything to protect his friends, I felt a rush of affection towards him. So knowing everything I did about the amazing person he was, I realized that if I could just look past his stupidity, the emotion – stronger than just fondness for a kind stranger – growing inside me without my notice made sense.

Sighing resignedly, I collapsed backward onto my bed. "Fine. Whatever. Let's just…see where this goes," I decided, climbing under the covers. There was nothing to do for now except wait for something to happen, for better or for worse, so that's just what I was going to do.

…

The next morning, Tamaki wasn't at school. I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed, but settled on worried when Hikaru commented, "That's odd. Milord prides himself on having never missed a day of school before, and he didn't even let anyone know he wouldn't be here today."

"Really?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

My voice must have betrayed how I was feeling, because Kaoru added, "Don't worry about it. You know Milord, he probably just got sidetracked by something shiny."

I laughed. "Yeah, you're right. I just hope the fangirls don't start a riot."

So I put it out of my mind, assuming Tamaki would show up later, or call someone to tell us he was sick or something. When club came and went, and no one had heard from Tamaki yet, I started to wonder if something had happened, but I tried not to think about that as I said good-bye to the rest of the hosts and made them promise to call me if they heard anything.

I got home, grabbed our mail on the way in, and threw it on the counter. I was going to get a snack from the fridge when a letter in the stack of bills and ads caught my eye. It was addressed to me, which was weird, because no one ever wrote me, and even weirder was the labeling – it was so gold and loopy I could hardly make it out, for one thing, but what really shocked me was that it was from Haruhi Fujioka.

"Why would Tamaki's fangirl be writing to me?" I wondered out loud as I opened the envelope and slipped the letter out.

As my eyes scanned the paper, my jaw dropped. I knew she was crazy, but…no way. This couldn't be serious.

_You are cordially invited to the wedding of Miss Haruhi Fujioka and Mr. Tamaki Suoh, to take place promptly at 6:00 tonight at the Fujioka mansion. Don't be late!~_

As if I wasn't already freaking out enough, scrawled at the bottom was a single word in Tamaki's handwriting:

_Help._


	27. A Nice Day for a Deranged Fangirl

Dropping the letter on the counter, I hastily dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed Tamaki's number. Without even ringing, it went straight to voice mail. What the heck was going on? Maybe I could have chalked this up to a series of strange coincidences if it weren't for the note from Tamaki, his mysterious absence from school today, and Haruhi's blatant insanity.

"Okay, maybe someone else knows something about this," I said to myself, dialing Hikaru's number. He picked up on the first ring.

"I was just about to call you. Did you get–"

"–the invitation?" I felt like Kaoru, finishing Hikaru's sentence like that. "Yeah. What's going on?"

"We don't know. Kaoru's calling everyone else, but no one has any idea. We're meeting at school as soon as possible, we'll pick you up on our way," Hikaru told me.

"Hurry," I ordered, hanging up and dashing downstairs to wait outside. A few minutes later, a limo pulled into the parking lot and I ran over and jumped into the backseat.

"So what do you guys think?" I asked as we pulled out and headed for school.

"We have no idea," the red-heads chorused.

"We called Milord as soon as we saw the letter, but it went straight to voice mail," Hikaru started.

"If it weren't for that, and him not being at school today, there would be no reason to take this seriously, but…" Kaoru trailed off and they shrugged, at a loss for words.

When we pulled up to school, the three of us climbed out of the limo and joined the rest of the hosts where they had gathered on the front steps.

"…no such thing as coincidence. There is only hitsuzen," Kyoya was saying.

"But there's no way Haruhi could have really gotten Tamaki to agree to marry her!" Hunny protested. Kyoya shook his head.

"Unless he didn't agree in the first place. If this was arranged beforehand, whether by them or their parents, there's no way it would have gone unmentioned for so long. And the invitation says 'tonight' – obviously made at the last minute. I propose we go to Fujioka-san's mansion at once. It's already 5 'o clock."

"Well, then what are we waiting for?" I exclaimed. The letter had said six o'clock, so we only had an hour before Haruhi was going to forcibly take Tamaki's hand in marriage.

"I'll drive," Mori grunted, leading us to a surprisingly normal-looking SUV.

"Mori-sempai, is this yours?" I asked.

"Mm," was all he said as he stuck the key in the ignition. 20 minutes later, with Kyoya navigating, we found the Fujioka mansion. The gate and front door were open, as if they were expecting company, so we cautiously walked inside.

The moment we crossed the threshold, the doors slammed shut and a large cage zoomed down, enclosing us on all sides before we could do anything about it.

"Ah, there you are," a voice called happily as Haruhi Fujioka entered the foyer. "My insurance – I mean, the guests of honor have arrived!"

With that, she smiled at us and pulled a remote out of her pocket, pressed a button, and the cage began expelling noxious green gas. I stupidly tried to hold my breath, but it was too late. "Sorry Sempai," was all I managed to mutter groggily as I passed out on Hunny.

…

I woke up to the gong of a grandfather clock. Blearily opening my eyes, I took in the scenario with a sense of "what the heck" growing in my addled mind.

For starters, I was gagged and bound, cuffed to an uncomfortable metal chair facing a pulpit with a nervous-looking old man standing at it. I was nearly blinded by the sheer purity of everything – all four walls and the high ceiling were white, golden chandeliers and candelabras lending their cheery glow. The room was large and bright, late afternoon light spilling in through beautiful stained glass windows along one wall. The floor was creamy marble, reflecting light in such a way that the entire room seemed to be glowing.

As I looked around, I saw that I wasn't alone. The rest of the hosts, aside from Tamaki, were waking up to find themselves similarly tied to chairs lined in a row with mine. I was seated closer to the left wall, with the twins, and the third years and Kyoya were farther to the right. A large gold carpet divided us, leading to the back of the room.

"Mmmffghhffmm!" Hikaru cried through his gag, panicking and trying to escape, but to no avail.

As the sixth gong of the unseen clock rang out, the room descended into silence broken only by the frustrated grunts of the twins and Hunny's frightened whimpers. Mori looked forlorn at not being able to comfort his cousin, while Kyoya simply gazed around with vague interest, as if this was a lesson he would be tested on later.

Wait…sixth gong…

No sooner had I remembered why we were here in the first place did a door at the back of the room open, and though I couldn't turn around far enough to see, I knew right away who was entering.

"You big brute, I demand that you put me down at _once!"_ Tamaki's voice carried what seemed like a far distance down the aisle as heavy footsteps echoed throughout the room. I heard soft thudding noises, which were explained as two people headed in our direction.

A really big, burly man in a black suit and dark glasses had Tamaki slung over his shoulder, and the latter, dressed in a suit as blindingly white as the walls, was pounding on the man's back with both fists. It made no difference to the big guy, whose arms alone were thicker than Tamaki at his widest point.

The odd couple finally reached the pulpit and stood there in front of it. Tamaki continued to smack the burly man in the back until he noticed us.

"You came to save me!" he said in relief, then noticed our fastenings. "Um, why are you tied to those chairs?"

Hikaru and Kaoru made noises that were unintelligible, yet somehow managed to be sarcastic anyway. Before Tamaki could process what was going on, the door opened again. Tamaki looked past us and his eyes widened. "Oh, she's crazy, she's really going through with this." He began to struggle even more furiously against the giant.

The Wedding March began to play from an orchestra that had risen up from the ground on what looked suspiciously like Renge's platform. Finally, Haruhi came into view. She was wearing a wedding dress with a long train and a veil, white, of course, like everything else in the vicinity. At this point, I couldn't help but think of a sanatorium. Obviously she was milking this for all it was worth, walking slowly, beaming around at…whoever she thought had come to witness this travesty.

When she had come to a stop at the altar, standing across from the big guy, she nodded and he set Tamaki down and stepped back. Immediately Tamaki started towards us, but the bodyguard grabbed his arm.

"Tamaki, dear, you can see your friends at the reception," Haruhi said. "Come now, let's not keep the priest waiting."

Tamaki turned to Haruhi, still in the giant's grasp. "Fujioka-san, pl –"

"I told you earlier, no honorifics! We're about to be husband and wife!" she protested.

Tamaki pursed his lips and continued, trying to keep his voice level. "_Haruhi,_ please, just let us go. I'm sorry if I led you on, but I never had any intention of marrying you, and I certainly don't now."

Haruhi just laughed. "That's only your nerves talking, it happens to everyone."

"Haruhi, I'm serious. Let us go, or I'll take matters into my own hands," Tamaki said gravely. As much as he didn't want to harm innocent people, I could tell Tamaki would do what he had to do to get us out of this madhouse.

"I can't do that, dearest. I thought you might get the jitters, I planned for this. Don't worry." She pulled her remote out from the folds of her dress and pressed a button. Bars crashed down from above, dividing us from Haruhi and Tamaki. "You see, I had to invite your friends, because I needed to make sure you wouldn't leave me at the altar. If anyone tries anything at all – and that includes you, honey – this button here, well, they'll be in for a nasty _shock_ if I press it." Her perfect smile never left her lips as she spoke, resting her thumb on another button on the remote. "I wouldn't suggest any sudden movements."

Tamaki gaped at his bride-to-be in horror. "You wouldn't."

"Now, let's start the ceremony," she said, and the old priest began to speak.

"Haruhi Fujioka, do you take…"

I could see Tamaki's eyes dart from Haruhi to the priest to us, back and forth, as he desperately tried to think of something. We all sat still in our chairs, afraid of unleashing Haruhi's wrath on us, but on the inside I was freaking out. This was not happening. After everything we'd been through, we were going to be bested by this insane _fangirl_? Not to mention I really didn't want Tamaki to marry Haruhi.

(Despite the absurdity of this scenario, I couldn't help but feel like it was a little cliché…)

"…for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Haruhi said dreamily, gazing into Tamaki's eyes as the priest began to repeat the vows for him.

"Haruhi," Tamaki began, "is there nothing I can say to talk you out of this?"

"Of course not," Haruhi insisted, "my love for you could never falter."

Tamaki sighed and closed his eyes. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." He opened his eyes again, and stared at Haruhi intently. He stepped closer, and his right hand took her by the waist, while his left took her chin in two fingers.

"Tamaki?" Haruhi squealed. Without answering, Tamaki pulled her closer. I let out a strangled cry that had nothing to do with my gag as he leaned in and kissed her full on the lips. Even the priest faltered in his speech and watched with mild fascination. After a few long moments, Tamaki stepped back. Haruhi sputtered incoherently for a minute, then proceeded to faint into Tamaki's arms.

"Honestly, I was worried that wouldn't work," Tamaki said to no one in particular, hefting Haruhi into his arms – I hate to say it – bridal-style. "My dear, I am deeply sorry for having to use your feelings like that, but it was the only way to end this madness. You can be sure that it won't happen again, because I'll be filing a restraining order the moment I get home."

He gently laid Haruhi against the altar, taking the remote from her limp hand, then seemed to remember the priest. "Er, I know that I kissed the bride, but we aren't legally married, are we?"

"No, not yet."

"And, um, you aren't going to try and stop me from leaving, are you?" Tamaki addressed the muscle man.

"My orders were simply to bring you here," the man said in a deep voice. "It doesn't make any difference to me what happens now."

Tamaki nodded. "In that case, we'll just be on our way." He pressed the top button on Haruhi's remote, which raised the bars so he could rush over to us. He knelt in front of my chair, running his fingers over the arms. "Let's see…should be a button or something around here…ah yes, there we are," he murmured, pressing a button I hadn't noticed, and the cuffs around my arms and legs relinquished their grip on me.

As I stretched my arms gratefully, Tamaki reached his up and undid my gag. "Are you okay?" he asked, his arms coming to rest on my shoulders. Beginning to blush, I nodded, and Tamaki quickly smiled at me before going to help the others. I got up and joined him, liberating the Hitachiins while Tamaki freed my upperclassmen.

When we were all released from the metal chairs, everyone just kind of stood there for a moment, staring at Tamaki.

"What?" he asked, disconcerted.

"Well, Milord, I don't think any of us saw that coming. What a way to turn a girl down." Hikaru grinned at the would-be groom.

Tamaki blushed. "After I was kidnapped and nearly forced to marry Haruhi, you're focused on the fact that I kissed her?" He stole a quick glance at me before carrying on. "It was either that or enjoy wedded bliss with a crazy fangirl, so can we please just move on?"

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other. "Nah. Tamaki and Haruhi, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Ignoring Tamaki's protests, they continued to sing all the way out of Haruhi's house and to the car. Having gotten past the shock of the day's events, and relieved we had all made it out in one piece (and single), I laughed along with everyone else. Nothing like making fun of Tamaki to relieve some of that post-traumatic stress.

**A/N: I know it's long, but I love this chapter, and there's lots of backstory on this AU Haruhi that I couldn't fit in…maybe I'll be able to write it for you guys someday. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review, even if you hate my guts! Until next time, ta-ta~**


	28. Princess For a Day

It felt like mere moments after crawling into bed that my alarm went off, signaling the start of a new day. Having been out all night keeping the peace at Ouran for three days in a row, I figured I deserved a little sleep at some point, so I punched the snooze button and buried myself under the covers. Next thing I knew, it was 8 a.m. and Dad was shaking me violently, yelling something about being late for school if I didn't get my butt in gear.

Jolted awake, I leapt out of bed, hastily throwing on my uniform and running outside. Hopping on my bike, I booked it to school and slipped inside just before the final bell. On my way to homeroom, I glanced into one of the numerous mirrors along the walls and did a double take. My face was flushed and sweaty, I had huge bags under my eyes, and my hair was a strawberry blond mess. To top it all off, my stomach rumbled loudly, reminding me I hadn't eaten since last night and had forgotten my lunch.

Groaning, I ducked into the classroom, running my fingers through my hair as I took my seat, trying not to bring attention to myself. As it turned out, bad luck found me anyway, and my day slowly went from bad to worse. Both my head and stomach began to ache the more time passed, and I fell asleep during our pop quiz in social studies and got a zero. By the time lunch rolled around and Kaoru bought me something to eat, I was already so frazzled that it didn't help my mood or my performance the rest of the day.

When the final bell rang, pounding in my head like a chisel, it was all I could do to drag myself to Music Room 3 without punching something.

"Boushi, what's wrong? You look horrible," Hikaru noted as I walked in to help get things set up.

"Gee, thanks for pointing that out. It's no wonder you're so popular with the ladies," I growled.

Tamaki tsk-ed. "Hikaru, she's right, that's no way to talk to a woman."

"I don't need your help, Sempai," I shot at him.

Hikaru and Kaoru were suddenly consumed with mad fits of coughing that happened to sound a lot like "_PMS!_"

"Would you all just shut up?" I shouted, plopping myself down in a chair and crossing my arms and legs. If anyone was going to push the matter any further, they didn't get a chance, because at that moment, the first few girls started filing into the room. My usual guests joined me at the table I was sitting at and I said, "Hey, girls."

"Hi, Boushi!" Aiko greeted me cheerily. "How's your day been?"

"Eh," was all I said. The girls stared blankly at me for a few moments, and I stared off into space.

"Um, so, have you sewed anything interesting recently?" Miyako asked.

"Not particularly."

Shizuka sighed. "Not very talkative today, are ya, Bou?"

"Look, my head is killing me, so do me a favor and bring it down a notch, okay?" I snapped.

Aiko's face fell, Shizuka scowled at me, and silence stretched out at my table. A few moments later, I felt a hand clasp my shoulder. Looking behind me, I saw Tamaki standing there, gesturing with his free hand towards the doors.

"Boushi, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked lightly.

"Sure," I said, rolling my eyes and following him out of Music Room 3. When we were in the hallway, Tamaki closed the doors behind us, leaned back against them, and folded his arms.

"If something's bothering you, you can talk to us, you know. Don't take it out on your guests," he said.

"Mm-hmm," I replied, feeling stubborn. Evidently Tamaki could either be equally stubborn, or just really patient, because he simply raised his eyebrow questioningly, not moving an inch. I sighed, cocking my hips to the side like the girl I wasn't supposed to be.

"Okay, you wanna know what's wrong? Where should I start? I got about 12 minutes of sleep last night, missed breakfast, and feel like the twins have been rummaging through my brain. I look like a piece of crap, whereas the rest of you morons at this school always look like supermodels. But apparently it doesn't matter as long as my guests are happy," I ranted, breathing heavily.

Tamaki considered me carefully before replying. "I'm sorry about all that," he said calmly. "It's not that your feelings don't matter, you just have to keep them in check during Host Club hours. We've all had to work through bad days before."

"This may be the first time you've actually acted like the president of this stupid club," I grumbled. "Thanks _so much_, that pep talk really helped."

Sudden realization flickered on Tamaki's face, and for some reason that escaped me, he had to fight back a grin. "Okay, look. I want you to go find somewhere in the club room to sit, cool off, and await further orders. Got it?"

"Yeah, whatever," I said, and he opened the door. I tried to head back into Music Room 3, but at the last second, Tamaki grabbed my arm. Turning, I raised an eyebrow at him.

"If it helps, I think you look amazing as usual," he said gently. I opened my mouth, blushed, and closed it. Tamaki laughed, mussed my hair, and let go of me before heading over to my table and telling my guests I wouldn't be returning today. Looking disappointed, a few of them left and a few went to be entertained by other hosts. Sighing in agitation at both my day and the fact that one comment from Tamaki could make me feel so much better, I went and plopped myself in the corner.

About fifteen minutes before the club's usual finishing time, Tamaki stood up and cleared his throat. "If I may have your attention, I'd like to announce that we'll be closing early today. A very special princess has booked us for the rest of the evening." This proclamation was met with general sighs and moans of disappointment and jealousy, and slowly, the girls got up and filed out. When the last one had left, Tamaki closed the doors and snapped his fingers. "Hikaru! Kaoru!"

The Hitachiins zoomed in, seemingly from nowhere, saluting their boss. "Yes, Milord!"

Tamaki beckoned them into a huddle and whispered something. Hikaru and Kaoru grinned and nodded.

"So, what exactly is going on?" I called from across the room. Ignoring my question, the twins rushed at me, each grabbed an arm, and dragged me out of the room to the salon that obviously every high school should have. "Seriously, what?" I repeated, but they just shoved me into a chair and blindfolded me. Before I knew what was happening, my hair was being washed, dried, and groomed by one twin, while the other started messing with my face. I waved my arms around wildly, and they waved theirs back.

"Hold still!" they yelled simultaneously.

"Excuse me for being adverse to being blindfolded and stuck in a chair, we all know how well that turned out last time, right?"

"Trust us, this is for your own good," Hikaru assured me. "So, what do you think, Kaoru?"

"Perfect, Hikaru," the younger Hitachiin replied.

"All right, take this, go in there, and get changed!" they told me, yanking me out of the chair and shoving me past a curtain with what felt like a huge pile of satin. Taking off my blindfold, I discovered I was in a small, mirror-less changing room holding a big, poofy ballgown that resembled Ouran's girls' uniform. Deciding I may as well go along with whatever scheme the hosts were planning, I put on the dress and peered out of the changing room.

"Hello?" I called, but the twins had left. Stepping past the makeshift door, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror in the salon and my jaw dropped. I had never been huge about make-up even before becoming a crossdresser, partly due to lack of interest and partly because I had never had anyone to teach me how to do it right. So I was astonished to see how different I looked with even this tasteful amount on, as either Hikaru or Kaoru had evidently been working on it while I'd been blindfolded. Not only that, but my hair was a far cry from the dirty mop I'd been sporting earlier. It was done in a stylish pixie cut, and it pained me to know I'd probably have to mess up it later to pass as a boy again.

I realized that the guys were probably expecting me back in Music Room 3, so I headed back, resisting the temptation to stare at my reflection every time I passed a mirror. When I reached the double doors, they opened as if by magic, and I was bathed in an unearthly light, sparkles, and flying roses.

"Welcome to the Ouran Host Club, princess!" six voices greeted me, and I flashed back to that fateful day so many months ago when I'd first encountered this scene. The hosts were gathered around a couch, each holding a rose, smiling brilliantly at me.

"What in the…?"

"So many girls have come and gone in Music Room 3, but we seem to have neglected the needs of the most important one," Tamaki started. "You may be a host, Boushi, but you're also a lady, and the reason the Host Club was formed was to make ladies happy. It appears, however, that we've fallen down on the job. So this is our gift to you, princess, if only for today."

I felt a sudden rush of affection for Tamaki and the rest of the hosts. "I really can't believe you guys sometimes," I laughed. "You'll have to help me out, though, I've never been on this side of hosting before. What do I do now?"

"First, you eat cake with me and Takashi!" Hunny cried gleefully, dragging me over to a table with Mori. Sitting down and taking the slice of cake Hunny was kind enough to leave behind, I listened in amusement as he chatted on about his Bun-Bun, karate, and sweets.

After a short while, I was hustled to the next table, where Hikaru and Kaoru tried their brotherly love act on me for about ten seconds before I broke down laughing and the conversation turned to fashion. Kyoya, hovering nearby taking notes, occasionally put in his two cents on the business side of things, and eventually glanced at the clock and said, "I believe it's time to switch."

The Hitachiins escorted me to the couch Tamaki was waiting at, winked, and sat me down next to him. Then they disappeared, along with the rest of the Host Club, leaving the two of us alone.

"Good evening, my dear," Tamaki said, and I couldn't help but giggle. "It must be hard for you, being a part of the Host Club on top of everything else. I know that due to your circumstances we can't tell you often enough, but I wanted to do something special to show you that despite the way the world sees you, to me, you are nothing less than a beautiful princess." Kneeling on the ground, he offered me a rose. My heart melted as I took it and I sank into the couch, smiling.

"How do you do it? Just an hour ago, I looked and felt horrible and now I feel…well, like a princess," I sighed happily.

Tamaki reclaimed his spot next to me on the couch. "It's what I'm here for. And speaking of which, we have all the time in the world, and how we spend it is entirely up to you. It's your turn to be hosted."

"Let's just talk," I said. "Tell me about your family."

Tamaki's smile wavered. "Not today. I'll tell you another time, I promise, but not right now. Tell me about yours. What was your mother like?"

"Amazing," I answered without hesitation. "She was an amazing seamstress, an amazing person, an amazing mom. She taught me how to sew and read patterns, and…" I sighed, closing my eyes and leaning on Tamaki. "I miss her sometimes."

"I know," Tamaki murmured, and I could hear in his voice that he really did understand. After a few moments of respectful silence, he asked, "So what have you been sewing lately?"

We passed what felt like a short time but must have been hours chatting away about everything and nothing, joking and laughing like we'd known each other forever. I'd never felt so comfortable talking to anyone before. Finally, between the soft velvet couch and feeling so at home with Tamaki, I couldn't help but drift off into sleep. The next thing I knew, I was leaning against the door of a limo, face pressed to the cold glass.

Sitting up straight, I looked around in confusion and saw Tamaki next to me. "After you fell asleep, I decided it was probably time for you to go home and get some rest," he explained. "We're almost to your house now."

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For today. For everything. I…" Again, I couldn't bring myself to say what I really meant. "Thank you," I repeated.

Tamaki smiled softly at me. "Here we are," was all he said, gesturing out the window at my apartment complex. "Your bike's in the trunk, I'll help you."

We climbed out of the car and Tamaki popped the trunk and pulled my bike out. I walked it to the bike rack and didn't protest as he walked me upstairs to my apartment door. "Thank you," I said again, feeling stupid for not having anything better to say.

"The pleasure was mine," he assured me, bowing deeply, taking my hand, and kissing it before smiling genially and heading on his way. Fumbling with my keys, I managed to unlock the door and stumble to my room before collapsing onto my bed, sweet dreams already consuming my mind before my head even hit the pillow.

**A/N: The idea for this chapter actually came to me on a whim a few days ago, and I loved it, so I started writing as soon as possible to finish in time for my Saturday update. I hope you liked this last little light fluff fling before the big finale. Thanks for reading, please review and let me know what's on your mind~ ^.^ **


	29. This is Halloween

**A/N: Dudes. The other night, I officially finished writing Ghost Club. I'm sure I'm still going to edit the crap out of the last however many chapters (not sayin' how many are left! ;D) between now and when I publish them, but...it's almost over...on the bright side, I guess now is as good a time as any to announce that my next fanfic is already in the works! Hopefully I'll have enough material by the time I start publishing to be able to hit the ground running and update twice a week from the beginning. Anyway, thanks for sticking it out, everyone! We're in the home stretch now! Please enjoy~**

"No. Just no. Guys, I am _not _wearing this," I insisted, feeling ridiculous as I looked at myself in the full-length mirror in the bathroom.

"Yes you are," Hikaru and Kaoru said, identical impatient looks on their faces, but not looking quite so identical in their costumes.

Tonight was the night of the Host Club's annual Halloween costume party, and I was at the Hitachiins' house getting ready. They said they had a costume for me, and stupidly, I had trusted them not to pick out something ridiculous. Now look where that got me.

I was wearing…some kind of yellow bodysuit…thing. I looked like a giant yellow rat with red cheeks and a lightning-bolt shaped tail. "I mean, really, out of everything you could have picked for me…why? You guys aren't dressed up as weird animals!"

Hikaru was wearing a black suit with white stripes on it, and had dyed his hair to match. Kaoru's hair was a light blue-gray, and he had on glasses and a white school uniform with red accents.

"Well, the costume we originally envisioned for you was a little more…" Hikaru paused, looking for the right word.

"A little more feminine," Kaoru finished, handing me some sketches of a yellow and brown dress so short I blushed just thinking about wearing it. "Obviously, that wouldn't have worked out for a boy."

"So you went to the other extreme and put me in a fursuit," I said dryly.

"Well, you could say that. But we worked really hard on this, so you're wearing it, like it or not!" they said.

"Fine," I sighed, planning to change out of it at the first opportunity.

When we got to Music Room 3, I spotted most of the rest of the Host Club scattered around, chatting with girls in costume-y dresses and animal ears. Mori was also wearing a bodysuit (at least I wasn't the only one); some weird red animal with fur spikes running down its back and big white gloves. Hunny, by his cousin's side, was wearing a big Lolita-style dress and cat ears with frills and bells on them. Kyoya was wearing a black suit and carrying a tea tray, and I heard him telling a girl, "Why, I am simply one hell of a butler." Tamaki was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Kairi was across the room, wearing a red turtleneck sweater with a white tie and some kind of cowboy hat, waving at us. "Hey, Hikaru!" she called. Hikaru grinned and waved back, heading over to her, both parties oblivious to the jealous looks they were getting from Hitachiin fans all over the room. Kaoru scowled.

"Always hanging out with Kairi," he mumbled mutinously.

"You'll live. It's not like they're getting married or anything," I told him.

"I know, but –"

"Do you dislike Kairi? Is there something wrong with her?"

"No, but –"

"Then deal with it. No matter what Kairi is to Hikaru, you'll always be his twin. Heck, maybe they _will _get married – you'll still be his twin. That's what you guys don't get. Loving other people won't make you love each other any less, so you have to let go a little bit."

Kaoru sighed. "Whatever. It's hard to take you seriously in that get-up."

"So you admit it's ridiculous!" I said.

"Speaking of ridiculous," he changed the subject with a mischievous grin, "how's it going with you and Milord?"

My cheeks flushed as red as my bodysuit's. "You're right, that is ridiculous."

"Oh come on, we're not blind. It's pretty obvious there's something going on there."

I paused, thinking carefully about how to answer. With the twins, anything you say can and will be used against you. "Ok, maybe I like him. But first of all, we're both hosts. We can't exactly date each other."

"Hikaru's dating Kairi," Kaoru pointed out, without a trace of bitterness, I noted.

"Well, yeah, but I'm supposed to be a boy. And I can't go back to being a girl, my debt's not paid off. Even if I didn't have to keep being a guy, either he'd keep hosting while we were dating, or stop being a host – either way, someone's unhappy. Namely the fangirls."

"You could keep it a secret. I mean, if no one's figured out you're a girl, no one would figure out if you and Tamaki were going out."

"Kaoru, this is all assuming he even likes me in the first place!" I said, starting to get frustrated at…everything. I was about to storm off angrily, but I remembered what Tamaki had told me, about not dealing with everything alone, so I swallowed my pride and gave it a shot. I motioned for Kaoru to follow me to an empty table at the back of the room.

"Ok, here's the thing. I've never felt this way about anyone before, so I have no idea what to do or how to deal with it. I don't know how I should feel about anything. But it really doesn't matter what I do if he doesn't like me, and there's no ideal situation for us anyway. Why is this so complicated?" I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice down.

"Well…I've never been a girl, or had a crush on a boy, so I'm not sure how much help I can be," Kaoru started, attempting to lighten the mood. He could probably feel the daggers I was glaring at him, because he hastily carried on. "But in all seriousness, I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. You'd have to be an idiot not to see that Milord really cares about you. Did you already forget about everything he did for you the other day, just to show you how amazing he thinks you are? I know as much as you do about your future, but don't worry about that. If it's meant to be, it'll find a way to happen."

I recalled the words that still made my heart skip a beat. _To me, you are nothing less than a beautiful princess._ "Maybe you're right. I just…hate feeling helpless like this. I'm not ready to tell him how I feel, so all I can do is sit around, hoping and waiting."

Kaoru shrugged sympathetically. "Good luck."

"Thanks," I said with a smile. "Anyway, I have to go to the bathroom, so I'll see you in a few."

Getting up and ignoring Kaoru yelling, "I know you're just going to change!", I left the room and started down the hall to the bathroom, hoping no one had realized it was me in the bodysuit. I changed back into the clothes I had been wearing at the Hitachiins' house and stuffed the fursuit into a bag and under the sink.

"I'll come back for that later," I mumbled, turning to leave and walking right into Tamaki. "Oh, sorry Sempai." Feeling my usual awkwardness when I ran into a real guy in the men's room, I looked him up and down. "And what are you supposed to be?"

He was wearing a black tank top, black leather pants, and a red cape. He must have been wearing a wig, because his hair was in a long braid all the way down his back. "I'm an alchemist! Hey, where's your costume?"

"Um…don't have one," I lied, making to walk past Tamaki, but he side-stepped me.

"Come on, you've known about the Halloween party for weeks, surely you could have at least made _something_?"

I probably would have if I hadn't thought the twins would make me something acceptable, but I was just not going to spend the next three hours in a fursuit. "Hikaru and Kaoru said they'd take care of it, but it didn't work out." It was mostly the truth. "Anyway, I have to get back to the party."

"All right, well, next year, don't trust those doppelgangers," Tamaki advised, laughing and letting me by.

_Next year, huh…_I hadn't thought about it much, but I guess I would be stuck in the Host Club next year, and the year after that…_What_ _happens when we graduate? _We had come to the conclusion that the Zuka Club was most likely our enemy, but had no concrete evidence, and no plan for confronting them. _Is this what the rest of my life is going to look like, fighting endlessly to keep these monsters from over-running the world? _I wondered, thinking that at this rate, I'd be spending the rest of my life with the hosts. I had mixed feelings about that.

With a sigh, I shook my head and headed back to the party. Like Kaoru said, there was no point in worrying about the future right now. I was rounding the corner in the hallway that led to Music Room 3 when I heard voices from an empty classroom. Looking around, I crept to the doorway and listened.

"…never used it like this before, but it's the same principle. It should work." I stifled a gasp. That was Benibara's voice!

"None of their characters are compatible. With any luck, they'll duke it out and do all the work for us." It was one of Benibara's companions…Suzuran.

"But what if the girls get caught in the crossfire? They didn't do anything," a higher-pitched voice said. Hinagiku, I remembered.

"A chance I'm willing to take if it means getting rid of the Host Club," Benibara said sharply. A few moments stretched out in silence, then there was a flash of purple light. Noises came from the room, and I hid behind a large vase, praying I wouldn't knock it over, and waited until the Zuka Club had snuck down the hall before coming out.

"That wasn't suspicious at all," I said to myself. "I need to find the hosts, tell them what I heard." I had only taken two steps towards Music Room 3 when a blond midget nearly ran me over. "Hunny-sempai?" I asked, looking down to see who had crashed into me. It looked like Tamaki, and he was dressed how Tamaki had been, but… "Tamaki-sempai, when did you get so short?"

Suddenly, the midget jumped to his feet and started screaming at me. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK SO SMALL THAT ANTS GET TOGETHER AND LAUGH AT HOW SHORT HE IS?"

"Um, I, uh, didn't say that…" I said, stepping back. "Tamaki-sempai, what happened?"

"Look, I don't know who you think I am, but –"

Before he could finish the thought, I heard a gunshot and screaming from Music Room 3. The short blond and I looked at each other, nodded, and ran down the hall towards the double doors. Something weird was going on, and the Zuka Club was definitely behind it, but that didn't matter right now – someone, more likely a lot of someones, was in trouble, and thankfully, the angry midget seemed to be on my side for now.

**A/N: I have a challenge for you guys~ Everyone is in cosplay (surprise, surprise), and save the OCs, they all have one thing in common with their character. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to name as many of the characters as you can, and see if you can figure out what the similarity between the hosts and the characters they're cosplaying is! You have until chapter 31 is published…GO!**


	30. Worlds Collide

**A/N: GYAHHHH 30 CHAPTERS. Let's check the standings for the guess-the-character game! Neither of the twins or Hunny have been guessed correctly yet, we'll see if this chapter makes it a little more obvious. Some of the characters are similar in personality, but that's not specifically how I picked the hosts' cosplays. If you watch a lot of anime, and correctly identify all the characters, you might pick up on what they have in common with their costumes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this crazy stuff! Thanks for reading!**

The short Tamaki and I burst through the doors into Music Room 3 and entered into one of the most bizarre scenes I've ever witnessed in my life. Hikaru was standing in the center of the room with a crazed look in his eyes and a gun in his hand, pointed straight up at the ceiling with his pinky on the trigger. Dozens of girls were crouching against the walls covering their faces with their hands, or running from the room as fast as their legs could carry them.

"SYMMETRY!" Hikaru screamed. "Where am I? How did I get here? And why is this room so…so…asymmetrical?"

"Hey, you! Stripes!"

I turned to the source of Mori's voice and my jaw dropped. "What in the…?"

"I don't know how I got here either, but you don't see me turning my girlfriend into a gun and shooting things, do ya?" The costume that Mori had been wearing had suddenly gotten smaller and more lifelike, and he was speaking more crassly than I'd ever heard him.

"Patty is not my girlfriend, she's one of my human weapons! Speaking of which, where is Liz? My symmetry is off!" And with that, Hikaru collapsed, sobbing incoherently about symmetry and the number 8.

"Must be one of Dark's plots…he must be around here somewhere…" Kaoru muttered, ignoring his brother and wandering out of the room.

"This is quite odd…I've no idea where Ciel could be," Kyoya said, looking around unconcernedly and leaning down to scratch a small black cat behind the ears.

That's when what had happened hit me. "Ohhh, no." Whatever Benibara had been doing before, it must have somehow turned everyone _into _their Halloween costumes. That would explain why the girls only wearing dresses were unaffected, but there were suddenly cats, rabbits, and other small animals running around Music Room 3 in a frenzy.

"YOU!" I heard Renge scream from across the room as a little girl and a littler panda suddenly rocketed at Tamaki.

"YOU!" he yelled back, clapping his hands and then crouching down and slapping them on the floor. Blue light flashed, and out of nowhere, a wall suddenly grew up out of the ground; the little girl jumped over it and threw what looked like shuriken at Tamaki. I ran and ducked behind a couch to avoid the flying weapons and random stone walls only to encounter Hunny, looking mostly unchanged save his green hair, already hiding there.

"What's goin' on, nyo? I was just mindin' my own business, takin' a nap, when all of a sudden, here I was, nyo!" he said, eyes wide.

"It's a long story," I said as a shuriken flew right over Hunny, only millimeters from the top of his head – I could see it split hairs as it was.

"All right, that's it," Hunny yelled, standing up. "I'm not takin' anymore of this, nyo!" I yelped and jumped back as laser beams suddenly shot from his eyes, exploding the nearest wall Tamaki had made.

Music Room 3 had pretty much descended into chaos. The short characters were engaged in a three-way free-for-all, lasers and throwing stars and metal arms flashing. Hikaru was unloading multiple clips into the walls, unable to hit the creature formerly known as Mori, who was dodging the shots faster than I would have thought possible for an over-sized rodent. Meanwhile, Kaoru was nowhere to be seen, and all the animals had fled except the cats, who were rubbing against a completely indifferent Kyoya's legs as he tried to pet them all. Any girls who hadn't escaped were passed out all over the floor. It was a miracle none of them had been killed by a stray bullet or laser eye beam.

"This is not good," I moaned, trying to drag girls out of the room but almost getting smashed by a giant hand that had risen from the ground. Setting the girl I was carrying down, I scrambled to the top of the hand and screamed, "All right, everybody LISTEN UP!"

Much to my surprise, everyone actually did stop what they were doing and turn to face me. Hikaru's gun even glowed and turned back into Kairi to see what was going on. "Um, okay, now that I have your attention…stop trying to kill each other! I know it's tempting, but you can't. I'm not sure exactly how to explain this, but you're…not who you think you are. Well, you are, but not in this world…I guess."

The hosts-turned-anime-characters were staring at me in befuddlement, and I was afraid they were going to get bored and start fighting again, when Tamaki spoke up. "Ya know, this sounds kind of like how one time, I got sent to an alternate dimension where I met another version of my brother, and we had to save that world and ours too."

"Ok, sure, it's like that! Another dimension!" I said, grasping at straws, hoping it made sense to anyone else. "So, you're all from alternate dimensions and my friends got turned into you. I don't know what's going to happen to them if you all kill yourselves, but I don't want to find out. So I need you all to work together and help me find the people responsible for this so you can all get back to your dimensions or whatever as soon as possible."

I looked around hopefully, watching their reactions. No one seemed too shocked, so stranger things must happen in whatever series they were from. "So, uh…think you can do that?"

Tamaki was the first to break the silence. "I know what it's like to have someone close to you disappear and not know if you'll be able to get them back. I'm in."

I smiled gratefully at him, and within a few moments, everyone else was begrudgingly murmuring their consent. I hopped down from the hand and realized I had no idea where the Zuka Club went. "Do any of you…track people?" I asked, only to be answered with blank stares. Sighing, I led them out of Music Room 3 and down the hall. "Okay, we'll figure it out," I said, mostly to myself. Near the front entrance where limos were waiting for their spoiled rich kids, we ran into Kaoru.

"Kaoru!" I called in relief. He stared at me.

"That's not my name," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, my friend turned into you and now you're in another dimension and we need to get everyone back where they belong," I summarized. "Can you help us?"

"I did see some girls walking by saying something about some 'hosts' turning into something and fighting."

"Did they say anything else? Like where they were going?"

"The tall one said to head for the gymnasium to wait for a while before checking on these host people," Kaoru recalled.

"The gymnasium it is," I said, running back down the hall, wishing I knew where the gymnasium was. After about fifteen minutes of walking down random halls, we finally found it. Big surprise, it was huge, just like everything else in this school, about the size of an American football stadium. I spotted the Zuka Club sitting in the nearest set of bleachers, and they didn't look happy to see us.

"What the –?" Benibara yelled, jumping to her feet. "What are you doing here?"

"We found you!" I cried lamely, thinking there was a reason Tamaki was usually the one doing the dramatic entrances. "Now turn everyone back the way they were!"

"Not a chance," Benibara snarled.

"Then we'll just have to make you," Tamaki said gleefully, clapping his hands together. Hikaru stepped forward and aimed his gun at Benibara, who grabbed Hinagiku and shielded herself with her body.

"Lady Benibara!" Hinagiku protested.

"Fine," Benibara spat. "You're weaker as your pathetic host selves anyway." Letting Hinagiku go, she held her hand over her chest, and a purple light filled the room. When it dissipated, the hosts' and Kairi's costumes were just that once more.

"All right, it's time to settle this once and for all," Tamaki said, raising his arms.

Benibara leapt down from the bleachers, motioning for the rest of the Zuka Club to follow. "Not quite." The three girls linked hands. "Just to show I'm the better person, we'll give you time to get ready. Tomorrow night, we'll be waiting at Lobelia. The doors will be unlocked. If you really believe you can defeat us, you'll be there." Before any of us could do anything, Suzuran stepped forward, and they were gone.

"So…are we gonna do it?" Hikaru asked after a period of silence.

"Of course," Tamaki answered without hesitation.

"No we're not," Kyoya said with equal certainty.

"What? And why wouldn't we?" Tamaki asked, crossing his arms.

"Because it's a trap."

"I know that, I'm not an idiot," Tamaki said. "But it may be the best chance we get to fight them when we're all together and prepared. The longer we put it off, the more likely they are to get stronger, or pick us off one by one. I'm not taking that risk. We're going," he said firmly.

"All right, you're the king," Kyoya said lightly, shrugging. "If you think it's a good idea, I'll follow you."

Tamaki nodded, appreciation for Kyoya's support showing on his face. "We'll go home and rest up. We'll drive to Lobelia together; they could be planning to attack us, knowing we'll be coming. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Milord!" the twins said in unison, saluting Tamaki. The rest of us nodded.

"Good luck, and be careful," Kairi said, biting her lip.

"Don't worry about us," Hikaru said with a reassuring smile, "we'll be fine. Kicking butt is what we do."

"I hope you're right," Kairi replied.

For our sakes, I hoped he was too.


	31. Cut From the Same Cloth

**A/N: As promised, here's the answer to the challenge from the last couple of chapters! Tamaki was cosplaying as Edward Elric, Hikaru was Death the Kid, Kyoya was Sebastian Michaelis, Kaoru was Satoshi Hiwatari (from D.), Mori was Knuckles, Hunny was Di Gi Charat, and Renge was May Chang. And if you haven't pieced it together by now…everyone was cosplaying as other characters their American VAs have voiced. ^.^ Now, without further ado, I give you chapter 31 (!), the beginning of the end.**

That night, we found the entrance to Lobelia Academy unlocked, as promised. Cautiously, we entered and found ourselves in a large, dark, room, lit only by the light from outside. Before we could get a good look at our surroundings, the door slammed shut behind us. Hunny yelped and tried to open it back up, but it was locked. We had walked into a trap, just as expected.

Tamaki conjured up a ball of light, but it quickly flickered out. "There's other magic at work here," he whispered.

Suddenly, a single spotlight came on across the room, illuminating the figures of Hinagiku and Suzuran, standing high above us, leaning against each other.

"Prepare for trouble!" Hinagiku cried in a wavery voice.

"And make it triple," Suzuran added smoothly.

"You idiots!" Benibara's voice came from behind them, and all the lights came on. We were in a majestic foyer, the three members of the Zuka Club standing at the top of a large flight of stairs. Benibara smacked the younger members over the head with a harisen. "I told you not to use that stupid motto you came up with! You ruined our grand entrance!"

"Forgive us, Lady Benibara!" they apologized, shielding their heads from the harisen attack.

"But I suppose there's nothing to be done about it now," Benibara sighed, and they descended the stairs to stand on even ground with us. "Welcome, Host Club, to Lobelia Academy. I'm so glad you could make it," she said airily, arms spread wide. "But enough formalities. It's time for you to die."

"Hold on just a minute!" Tamaki yelled. "You skipped right over a key part of the climax!"

"Excuse me?" Benibara raised an eyebrow and looked at Tamaki as if he was a large bug she wanted desperately to squash.

"This is the part where the villain monologues about their motives and such! We can't go into the final battle with a gaping hole in the plot!" Tamaki explained seriously.

"Tamaki-sempai, does it really matter at this point?" I asked through gritted teeth, ready for an attack at any moment while Tamaki was being an idiot.

"Oh dear, how could I have forgotten the monologue?" Benibara said in despair, making everyone, including the other Zuka girls, turn and stare at her. "Any connoisseur of the stage would know that is a pivotal moment in the story," she continued, oblivious to the incredulous looks she was getting. "Very well. When I started high school, my mother was very sick. On her deathbed, she gave me this amulet." As she gestured to it, I noticed for the first time an amethyst hanging from a silver chain around her neck. "She said it possessed the ability to create and control extraordinary creatures."

Tamaki caught my eye and flashed a sly grin in my direction, and I suddenly realized he had planned this: he knew Benibara would reveal her secrets, given the right motivation. In a way, the two club leaders weren't that different.

"She saw it only as a tool of revenge, and I spent years fine-tuning its power, because I knew what I could do with it once I had fulfilled her final wish," Benibara continued.

"Revenge?" Tamaki prompted her.

"18 years ago, before I was born, she was married to the chairman of Ouran Academy. It was an arranged marriage, but she did have feelings for him."

Tamaki's jaw dropped. "Ouran's chairman?"

"Yes, until he ran off with some French woman," Benibara spat. "He divorced her quietly, but it was too late to save her from disgrace. Then months later, she realized she was pregnant with me. The chairman's family blackmailed my mother into staying quiet. He ripped her heart out and trampled all over it. Men are pigs," she finished in disgust.

"Th-the chairman is your _father?_" Tamaki asked.

"Haven't I made that clear? That man is the reason my mother wanted to destroy Ouran, and everything he worked hard for."

Tamaki was pale, pointing to himself, to Benibara, back again, over and over. "Ah! Ahh!" Was all he could manage.

The twins were staring at each other, mouths gaping, and Hunny was tugging on Mori's shirt saying, "Did you hear that, Takashi?" Even Kyoya looked surprised.

"Um, did I miss something?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, you mean you didn't know?" Kyoya said, his face even once more, as if he had known all along. "The chairman of Ouran Academy is Suzuru Suoh – Tamaki's father."

I repeated the news. "Tamaki-sempai's father is the chairman...Benibara's father is the chairman..." It finally clicked. "You mean those two," I pointed between Tamaki and Benibara, "are _siblings_?" I concluded incredulously.

"Half-siblings, to be exact," Kyoya corrected me.

"W-w-what?" Benibara cried, taking a step back. "That..._thing_ is my brother?"

"Half-brother," Kyoya clarified, amused now. "You mean all this time, you never knew the name of the man your mother wanted vengeance against, the name of your own father?"

Benibara was on her knees, clutching her head. "She swore never to speak his name. I never asked. I…I just can't believe I'm related to _him!_" she moaned dramatically, pointing at Tamaki, who wasn't taking it much better.

"She's my sister...?" he said faintly, staring at Benibara.

"Half-sister," Kyoya said with a little sigh as I waved my hand in front of Tamaki's face, trying to bring him back down to earth.

"Sempai, you really need to focus right now." I glanced over at Benibara, but she was still in shock, Hinagiku and Suzuran trying to pull her back into reality. "It's really not that big of a deal."

Tamaki blinked a few times, shook his head, and looked at me. "Hmm? Oh, yes. Yes. Can't let my guard down." He cleared his throat.

Benibara seemed to come to her senses at the same time as Tamaki. "Don't think this changes anything," she snarled. "I'm still going to kill you. Hinagiku!"

The youngest Zuka girl snapped her fingers, and suddenly, hundreds of young women in pink t-shirts were pouring out from doors on all sides of the room. They had us surrounded in moments, outnumbered us fifty to one.

"Who are they?" I asked, looking around at their blank faces.

"Members of our fan club," Benibara explained coolly. "Willing to do anything for us."

"It was you, wasn't it, controlling those innocent girls at the beach!" I gasped, coming to the sudden realization. "So for all your feminist talk, they're just pawns to do your bidding? How can you criticize one man for what he did to one woman, and then turn around and abuse the feelings of all these girls?" I yelled.

Benibara's face flushed in anger. "Do not compare me to him!" she shrieked. "That _man's _actions were purely selfish, and brought no good to anyone."

"That's not true!" Hunny cried. "Tama-chan's father may not have made what seems like the best decision to you – it may have been a terrible choice, for all we care! What's done is done, and that choice brought Tama-chan into the world, and we love him, so you can't say that it didn't do any good to anyone!"

"Sempai…" Tamaki stepped forward and placed a hand on Hunny's shoulder, smiling down tearfully at the older blonde.

"That's so sweet I want to gag," Benibara said contemptuously. "I'd say I hate to break up the moment, but really, I don't." With that, Hinagiku snapped her fingers, and the girls began to move in on us. Suzuran grabbed the hands of her companions, turned on the spot, and they all disappeared, leaving us alone with the mob of bloodthirsty minions.

The girls began to close in, and Tamaki pointed straight up and cried, "Host Club, move out! You know what to do!"

Hunny and Mori dashed forward, moving among the girls, deftly striking them on the backs of their necks, causing them to faint on the spot. Kyoya whipped out his notebook and began writing faster than I would have thought humanly possible, and girls began to drop like flies. Hikaru and Kaoru wove in and out of the throng, girls passing out in their wake. Tamaki and I stood back to back, on crowd control, making sure no one got overwhelmed – him blowing girls away with strong gusts of wind, me pushing them back with anything that I could pick up telekinetically.

Within fifteen minutes, we had subdued every last pink-shirted fan club member. "That was almost too easy," Hunny commented.

Kyoya assessed the situation. "They never meant for these girls to kill us. No, Benibara would want to do that personally. Most likely, they only wanted to wear us down while giving themselves time to spread out and prepare to strike."

"We can't just stand around here waiting for them to attack, we need to keep moving," Tamaki decided. He pointed at a door on the bottom floor at random, and we moved on.

**A/N: Ehehe. Hehe. This is another chapter I was lookin' forward to publishing. Whaddya think? Theoretically, it's possible!**


	32. Turning Point

"Wow…you and Benibara…" Hikaru said, shaking his head at Tamaki as we wandered the halls of Lobelia.

"Yeah, I still can't believe it," Kaoru agreed.

Tamaki shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "You make it sound like a bigger deal than it is. Forget about it."

I was about to ask if something else was bothering him, but just then, Hinagiku rounded the corner, looking just as surprised to see us as we were to see her.

"Oh! There you are!" she exclaimed. "I'm afraid this is the end of the line for you!" She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and placed her index and middle fingers on her temples. When she opened her eyes, she pointed one hand at Hunny, who suddenly lunged at Kaoru with a yelp, and the other at Mori, who jumped Kyoya.

"Hey, what gives, Sempai?" Hikaru yelled, running to help his twin.

"I'm sorry, Kao-chan, I can't stop!" Hunny wailed, wincing as he punched Kaoru in the stomach. I heard Hinagiku gasp.

"This isn't good," Kyoya said, throwing his arms up to block as Mori's leg swung out of nowhere at his head. Tamaki rushed to help Kyoya, and I joined the twins, who were barely holding their own against Hunny.

"I'm...s-s-soorryyyyy!" Hunny repeated, breaking down into hysterics as he punched and kicked through our defenses like we were rag dolls. We could hardly protect ourselves, even three on one, much less go on the offensive.

"That's it, I'm putting a stop to this," I said through gritted teeth, turning around and bolting at Hinagiku. Her eyes widened in fear, and she gestured towards herself.

"Look out, Bou-chan!" Hunny cried. Suddenly, Tamaki tackled me from the side, and I crumpled to the ground.

"What are you–"

Tamaki cut me off, jumping out of Hunny and Mori's warpath as they leapt to Hinagiku's defense. "You idiot, don't be so reckless!" he yelled angrily, trying to fight off Hunny and Mori single-handedly.

"You're the idiot!" I screamed back, pulling myself off the ground to help him, the rest of the Host Club joining us. "How were you expecting to handle both of them at the same time?"

"How were you?" he countered.

Feeling stupid, I didn't answer, just concentrated on keeping myself alive. It really hadn't occurred to me that if I went for Hinagiku, the third-years were going to defend her. We couldn't defeat Hunny and Mori even if we wanted to, and if we attacked Hinagiku, we had to get past them. Looking around, I could see we were all getting worn out already, while our upperclassmen hadn't even broken a sweat. We couldn't last much longer.

Tamaki must have realized it too, because he yelled, "Guys, cover me! I've got a plan!" and abandoned the fight to run at Hinagiku. As they'd done last time, Hunny and Mori both sprang to the puppet master's defense. This time, however, we were ready. Letting out crazy Tarzan yells, the twins tackled Hunny, and Kyoya and I did our best to hold Mori off.

"Princess, please, stop this fighting." Swinging my head around to stare at Tamaki, I nearly got my nose broken as Mori punched me in the face. He grunted apologetically, but I was almost too distracted to pull my focus away from Tamaki. He had slipped behind Hinagiku, one arm draped over her shoulders, the other offering her a rose. This was his plan? Was the moron really trying to _charm_ her?

"Sempai, did you forget who we're dealing with here? Not gonna work!"

Tamaki, however, was undeterred. Hinagiku, red in the face, had actually accepted the rose, and Tamaki carried on. "You don't really want this, do you? Please, before it's too late."

Hinagiku stood there for a moment shaking, then collapsed, sobbing into her hands, and Tamaki knelt beside her. Hunny and Mori suddenly froze, falling over, like their bodies had suddenly forgotten what they were doing mid-action. Helping Hunny up, I breathed a sigh of relief. We were safe, for now at least.

"I…I just…I never wanted this…" Hinagiku choked out. "When Benibara first recruited me to the Zuka Club, I was honored. I didn't know she just wanted me for what I can do to people…I don't like it…the things she's made me do…"

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay," Tamaki said gently. "You don't have to do what Benibara wants anymore."

Hinagiku looked up at Tamaki, eyes glistening with tears. "When she finds out I let you go, she'll kill me too," she whispered.

"We'll protect you," Tamaki promised.

Hinagiku squeezed Tamaki's hand. "You don't know what she's planning, do you? I've watched you, I know you don't want to hurt people, but Lady Benibara didn't call you here to sign a peace treaty. She's going to kill you, and this isn't revenge for something that happened nearly 20 years ago, or because of some silly grudge against you. She wants the Host Club out of the way because you're the only ones who can stop her."

"Stop her from doing what?" Tamaki asked.

"She's going to unleash her monsters on the entire world. She…" Hinagiku bit her lip, hesitating. "She wants to kill every last man on earth."

Shocked silence followed her statement. Finally, Hikaru said, "She's crazy. One hundred percent frikkin' insane."

"No matter how much she hates men, she has to at least realize we're kind of crucial for…you know…reproduction, right?" Kaoru asked.

Hinagiku shrugged helplessly. "Your brother's right. She's crazy. I've been a part of the Zuka Club since shortly after Lady Benibara became president, which was right after her mother died. She's been losing her grip on reality ever since. For that first year, she was focused on destroying Ouran, because all she knew about her father was that he was the chairman there. When the Host Club was founded, she redoubled her efforts to take you out. And then…I still remember the moment she snapped. 'Ladies,' she said, 'wouldn't life be so much better without men?' Of course we agreed, and then she smiled at us and said, 'Well then, we shall rid the world of them.' She was so calm about it, but I could see in her eyes that she'd changed."

Hinagiku looked up at the rest of the Host Club pleadingly. "She was so hurt by the loss of her mother, and it was so deeply ingrained in her to hate men. I'm not trying to make excuses for her, I just want you to understand. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants and won't hesitate to kill you. You need to be prepared to do what you have to to stop her from completely obliterating the human race."

Tamaki brushed Hinagiku's hair back and helped her to her feet. "We understand," he murmured, looking about as blown away as I felt at trying to take this all in. I was more terrified than I'd ever been in my life at the idea that this group of 7 teenagers was the only thing standing between Benibara's army of monsters and the end of life as we know it. I was probably going to die here tonight, and if we died, so did everyone else.

"Hinagiku, go hide in a classroom somewhere. If Suzuran or Benibara finds you, tell them we overpowered you and you barely escaped. We'll come back for you." Tamaki turned to us, suddenly authoritative and confident. "Men – Boushi – you heard what she said. The weight of the world rests on our shoulders. It's up to us to stop Benibara. Are you up for the task?" he cried proudly, raising his fist in the air.

"Yes, sir!" the twins yelled, throwing their fists up too. I smiled and joined in the salute, their confidence contagious. Hunny whooped gleefully and fistpumped, and Kyoya even cracked a smile and clenched his fist by his chest. Admiration for Tamaki, who could so effortlessly command respect and rally us like this in such a dark moment, flooded through me. We faced the greatest battle of our lives, and the stakes were gargantuan – but with all of us together, how could we lose?


	33. By A Landslide

"How did you know?" I asked Tamaki, staring up at him as we continued down the hall. Hinagiku had scurried into a nearby supply closet, wishing us luck, and we'd carried on.

"Know what?"

"How to get Hinagiku to back down. She's part of the Zuka Club, what on earth made you think that would work?"

Tamaki shrugged. "I didn't, really. She's always seemed the least…well, her heart wasn't really in it, compared to the other two. Even when she was making us fight each other, she seemed scared someone would get hurt. So I just took a chance, and hoped that she wouldn't kill me."

I let out a whistle. "Impressive. You can really figure people out."

"He's smarter than he looks," Kyoya said.

Tamaki chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

We wandered the halls of Lobelia randomly for a good twenty minutes, occasionally trying to make small talk that always died down pretty quickly. Despite Tamaki's best efforts, the realization that Benibara's ultimate goal was more or less the end of humanity and that we were the only ones who could stop her was gnawing at all of us. And I still wanted to know why Tamaki had been so upset about the fact that Benibara was his half-sister. _I'll ask him if…no, _when_ we defeat Benibara, _I promised myself, trying to keep my hopes up. Once we stopped her, life could go back to normal, or as normal as it could be for me now that I was in the Host Club. At least we wouldn't have any monsters or demons to worry about. _That's the spirit._

Suddenly Tamaki stopped. "Suzuran. She's coming." We stopped in our tracks, and sure enough, Suzuran floated lazily down the hall a few moments later.

"Ahh, there you are," she said, a mad smile on her face as she touched down. "Mistress Benibara's orders were to save you for her, mage, but surely she won't be too broken up over it if you happen to get caught in the crossfire. This will be fun."

Suzuran raised her arms and electricity crackled along them. She pointed a slender finger at Hunny and lightning shot down it at him. The small blond sprang up, barely avoiding getting fried. He ran at Suzuran and hooked her legs out from underneath her, and I telekinetically unscrewed a chandelier directly above her. Suzuran rolled out of the way moments before it crashed down with a discordant tinkling, glass splintering and flying everywhere.

"Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that," she taunted us. With a thrusting of both her arms, large pillars of fire sprang into existence all around us, corralling us into a tight circle. I froze, my blood running cold and my mind going blank. I felt a hand clasp mine tightly.

"It's okay. You're going to be fine, I promise," Tamaki whispered, giving my hand one last squeeze before releasing it and lifting his arms towards the heavens. Relaxing a little, I watched as he closed his eyes, turned up his face, and mouthed something. Moments later, rain began to pour from the high ceiling, dousing the flames instantly.

"You like lightning, do you? I'll show you lightning," Tamaki said to Suzuran. There was a crash of thunder, and I had to bite back a scream as lightning stemmed from the ceiling and struck him. Tamaki's entire body glowed with electrical energy, hair whipping about as if by a strong gust of wind, and he pointed one finger at Suzuran. Shock at what was happening barely had time to register on her face before bright blue lightning forked in her direction. She threw up her hands to block it, but was too late. Crying out, she collapsed, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

"Is she…?" Hunny breathed.

With what looked like great effort, Suzuran looked up at us. "Like I said…you'll have to do better than that," she said weakly, coughing. "Away with you!" She raised her shaking hand and swept it from left to right, and suddenly the world turned upside down in a tumble of color and light. Next thing I knew, I was standing alone in an unfamiliar hallway.

"What the?" I exclaimed, looking out the nearest window to gain my bearings. I couldn't get it open, but as far as I could tell, I was somewhere on the second floor. I moaned and banged my head against the glass. I had no idea where I was, or where anyone else was, and someone was probably about to waltz around the corner right this minute and kill me. "This is just great," I complained out loud.

Deciding it was at least better to keep moving, I sighed and headed off in a random direction. When I came to a staircase leading up to what I guessed was the third floor, I started climbing, thinking it looked somewhat familiar. I must not have been paying any attention whatsoever to what was right in front of me, because when I got to the top, I crashed right into someone, losing my balance and falling backward. As I toppled back in slow motion, I caught a glimpse of Tamaki's panicked face, and his arms spinning in wild circles. Just before I cracked my head open, a cushion of air buoyed me up, and for a few moments I was flying, before Tamaki caught me and set me down safely next to him.

"That was a close one," he sighed.

"Yeah, thanks," I said distractedly. My stomach was swooping, partly from my short flight, and partly from Tamaki's hands grasping my waist. "It would be kind of dumb if after everything I've been through, what got me was death by stairs."

Tamaki gently guided me away with one hand at the small of my back, leading us down the hall. "Better get you away from there before you trip again," he said lightly.

"I'm not _that_ clumsy," I protested, shoving him a little. "And besides, it was your fault." It felt good just to joke around with him like this, even in the midst of a life-or-death situation. As much as I would have liked to just laugh for as long as possible, though, I had to ask. "Sempai…about Benibara…maybe I'm just imagining things, but it seems like there's something more going on. With you, I mean. Does it bother you that much?"

Tamaki glanced at me sideways, scrunching up his mouth like he was thinking about what to say next. After a few moments, he sighed. Running a hand through his hair, he said, "It's not that it bothers me. Well, it does, but not because I'm related to her. I can't help but think that all of this is my fault."

"Your fault?" I asked. "I mean, I know she hates you and all, but until now, that had nothing to do with her motives."

Tamaki smiled a little, a sad sort of smile. "But don't you see, I have everything to do with it. If my father had never fallen in love with my mother, if they'd never had me, then none of this would have happened."

I blinked. "Are you saying that somehow, what your father did is your fault? Like, just because you were born?"

"More or less."

"You're a bigger idiot than I thought. Tamaki-sempai, you can't help the circumstances of your birth. Hunny-sempai is right – to us, it doesn't matter how you were born, just that you were, and we're all thankful for that. Even me," I added with a smile. "And Benibara turned into a murderous psychopath before she knew about you, so stop blaming yourself."

Tamaki tipped his head to the side, considering what I'd said. Finally, he returned my smile and shook his head. "Maybe you're right. I don't know." He shrugged. "We'd better get a move on, anyway." He picked up the pace, and I walked faster to match his long-legged stride.

"Sempai?" I began.

"Hmm?"

"Back there, against Suzuran…that was amazing. That storm, it was…." I couldn't quite put into words the exhilaration of that moment when the lightning struck, how it took my breath away just to watch. Looking at Tamaki, his slight frame and gentle countenance, I never would have believed just how powerful he really was before witnessing that storm. "Amazing," I repeated. "You're amazing."

"Took you long enough to realize it," Tamaki said playfully.

I opened my mouth to respond, with what I don't know, but hesitated a heartbeat too long. Finding myself at a loss for words, I just looked down and shrugged. Silence stretched out between us, and with no distractions, I realized I was still soaking wet and shivering with cold. I folded my arms for warmth and Tamaki glanced over at me.

"Ahh, my apologies," he said, stopping.

"Hmm?" I asked, tripping a little in my hastiness to turn around.

"I should have noticed before you're still wet. The lightning must have dried me off, so I didn't even think about the rest of you." As Tamaki spoke, he was pulling off his jacket. Stepping forward, he closed the distance between us so that he could drape it over my shoulders.

"Thanks," I said, gratefully pulling the heavy fabric tightly around myself.

"A gentleman never lets a lady go cold," he said, taking my hands in both of his and holding them to his chest. A warmth spread through me that had to be magic, and I gave into the temptation to lean into Tamaki, letting him wrap his arms around me.

"We can beat her," Tamaki said, his breath stirring my now-dry hair. "Everything's gonna turn out fine."

"I know," I replied.

"When we get out of here–"

"Boushi! Milord!" Kaoru suddenly ran around the corner in front of us, clutching his side and breathing heavily.

"Kaoru!" Reluctantly, I drew back from Tamaki, and we rushed over to the younger Hitachiin's side. "Are you okay? Is something chasing you?" I asked, peering down the hall he'd come in from.

He hugged both of us tightly, then asked, "Have you seen Hikaru? Where is he?"

Breathing a sigh of relief that that was the only thing bothering him, I replied, "No, we haven't, but don't worry. We'll find him."

"Suzuran…she was chasing Hikaru…she's recovered enough to go after him," Kaoru gasped, trying to control his breathing.

"How do you –"

Kaoru tapped his temple and cut me off. "He told me. We have to find him!" Grabbing my hand, he dragged me down the hall the way we'd just come at top speed.

"Guys, wait!" Tamaki yelled, following us. We ended up at an unfamiliar staircase and Kaoru led us down it, slowing down a little.

"Hikaru found the third-years," he explained. "The three of them should be better off than if he was facing Suzuran alone."

I nodded. "That's good. We –" Suddenly, the entire building began to shake. I clutched Kaoru's hand tightly as dust and debris started to fall from the ceiling.

"KAORU! BOUSHI! NO!" There was a great rumble, and Tamaki, three yards away, reached an arm out and took a step towards us. I looked up, and the last thing I saw was a mountain of stone and furniture tumbling down, then with a jerk of my body, everything went dark.


	34. In Memorium

I was cold, it was dark, and I ached all over. _I would have thought being dead would hurt less,_ I thought with a moan. That was about the time I realized I was still alive. Opening my eyes, I saw that I was laying on my side on the marble floor, Kaoru sprawled out a few feet from me.

"Kaoru?" I asked, panic rising in my chest as I pulled myself to all fours and crawled over to him.

"Uhhhnnn," he groaned, clutching his head as he sat up. "What happened?"

I looked around, trying to figure that out myself. Kaoru and I had been standing there, Tamaki had yelled our names…I looked up and saw the rocks tumbling down and then something crashed into me from the side, pushing us out of the way…

"Oh, no," I breathed, putting two and two together. "Tamaki!" He hadn't. He couldn't have, because that would mean he had been caught underneath the avalanche in our place, and that would mean he was…

I ran over to the pile of rocks and other debris from the room above and blindly started digging. I would clear everything out of the way and see Tamaki standing there, and everything would be fine. My mind was just jumping to the worst possible conclusion, that was all.

The pile began to rumble and Kaoru pulled me back just as it shifted and dozens of huge rocks rolled down. I peered over the top, desperately hoping I'd see Tamaki on the other side, but he wasn't there. Kaoru's grip on my arms tightened.

"Where is he?" I whispered. "He's not…he can't be under there…"

Footsteps on the other side of the pile, coming our way, made my heart skip a beat and I looked up hopefully, but it was just Kyoya.

"Kyoya!" I cried, and he stepped back in surprise at the pitch of my voice. "Did you see Tamaki when you were coming this way?"

"No. Should I have?" Kyoya asked, looking around curiously.

I felt like the ground had dropped out from under my feet. It was true. Tamaki had sacrificed himself to save us, and now he was gone.

Gone.

I pointed a shaking hand at the pile, mouthing soundlessly, unable to form a coherent thought, much less words. Kyoya stared at the spot I was gesturing to, and after a few moments, he must have understood what I couldn't say. "Tamaki…you don't mean…what happened?"

"There was an earthquake, or something, and the ceiling came crashing down," Kaoru said, gesturing at the gaping hole above us that revealed a classroom on the second floor. "Tamaki-sempai saved us, but he…" his voice cracked. "He didn't make it."

Kyoya was silent. He slowly reached up, took his glasses off, examined them, and put them back on. "I see," he finally said. Anger began to rise up in me – Kyoya was Tamaki's best friend, how could he act so indifferent? Then I saw his fists clench, his whole body shake ever so slightly, recognized the slight quaver in his voice. I felt ashamed for assuming Tamaki's death meant nothing to him.

Kyoya finally spoke up, bringing us back to the present, where we were still in danger. "We should find the others. Can you climb over the rocks?"

I nodded and Kaoru and I started toward the pile. As we carefully began to clamber over the rocks, I had a sudden moment of panic. What if we dislodged the whole thing, and Tamaki's body was exposed? My mind elsewhere, I slipped as I was climbing down on the other side, and sliced a huge gash down my leg on a sharp rock.

"Are you okay?" Kaoru asked, helping me to my feet.

"Fine," I muttered, despite the fact that nothing was farther from the truth. I wasn't really paying attention as I followed Kaoru and Kyoya down the hall. I knew I had to block this out of my mind for now, stay strong and keep fighting until it was all over, but I couldn't help the memory of the moment we'd shared only minutes ago flooding my mind.

How could something like this happen so suddenly, and be over so fast? Tamaki was just…not there anymore, as if he never existed, as if such a loss was so inconsequential as to go unnoticed by the world. The feeling of disbelief and confusion I'd felt at my mother's death returned, painfully familiar. I had forgotten in the ten long years how much it hurt to lose someone you loved.

Finally, we stumbled upon Hikaru, Hunny, and Mori, looking like they had been put through the ringer.

"Kaoru!" Hikaru cried when he spotted his twin, running over and embracing him in a huge bear hug. When Kaoru didn't return it, Hikaru stepped back, his hands on his brother's shoulders, and looked him up and down. "What is it?" he asked worriedly. Kaoru didn't seem to be able to bring himself to repeat the story. Hikaru looked around at me and Kyoya, then noticed who was missing. "Where's Milord? Have you not found him yet?" None of us answered.

Hikaru must have seen something in Kaoru's face, because his own paled and his voice rose as he asked again, "Kaoru, what is it? Where's Tamaki?"

"Dead," Kyoya finally said.

Seeming to forget his twin was even there, Hikaru took a step toward us. "What?" he asked in disbelief.

"Dead," I repeated. "He died saving my and Kaoru's lives."

"No," Hikaru said, shaking his head. "No, you're lying. Kaoru," he said, turning to his brother, "tell me it's not –" he broke off as he looked into Kaoru's eyes. "No," he whispered again, not in disbelief this time, but in sorrow. "No, no, no…"

Hunny and Mori gaped at us. "Tama-chan's…dead?" Hunny whimpered.

I looked around at the Host Club as I realized something. "I'm sorry," I said. "Every terrible thing that's happened to you – Hikaru becoming a werewolf, Tamaki…d-dying – it's all my fault. Everything."

Hikaru turned around and glared at me. "Stop it! Are you really that self-centered?" I blinked, taking a step back in surprise. Kaoru placed a hand on his older brother's shoulder, but he brushed it off. "Kaoru was there too, it wasn't just you. We all know Tamaki would throw himself in front of a bus to save a complete stranger. His death wasn't anyone's fault but the Zuka Club's, and if you try to make this about you, I will take you down, right here, right now!"

I stared at Hikaru, trying not to feel hurt. He was just taking his feelings out on me, and I couldn't blame him for that. As Kaoru tried to calm his twin down, Kyoya changed the subject. "Where have the three of you been? You don't look good."

Still seething, Hikaru recounted what he and he third-years had been through while we'd been separated. "After Suzuran used that psychedelic teleport spell on us, I was suddenly somewhere on the third floor. Then that…_witch_ showed up out of nowhere and started attacking me. I ran for it, and just when I thought I was a goner, I ran into Hunny-sempai and Mori-sempai. She got a few good hits in on us –" he gestured to his side, where a wide rip in his shirt revealed a large black and blue bruise "– but she still hadn't really recovered, so we had her outmatched. She grew these giant vines up from the ground as a shield when she realized she wouldn't be getting rid of the three of us that easily, and just disappeared. Coward," he spat.

"So she's still out there, as far as we know," I sighed.

"Not to mention Benibara's still lurking somewhere. We're in no shape to fight her," Hikaru added bitterly.

"Can't we just…leave? Face the Zuka Club again when we're better prepared?" Kaoru wondered out loud.

"Even if that was a good idea, all the ways out are sealed magically. When we were looking for you guys, Takashi and I tried breaking windows, opening doors, nothing worked," Hunny said, shaking his head.

"And if we could leave, then what?" Mori challenged us. "Wait for the Zuka Club to get stronger, recruit more allies, or even launch a full-scale attack on the world while we're licking our wounds? It's now or never."

"Now or never," Kyoya agreed.

I nodded, steeling myself for what was to come. "Let's do this."

While we had talked, a silent understanding had passed between the six remaining members of the Host Club – this wasn't the time or place to mourn. We still had a job to do, and we couldn't allow ourselves to break down until we had finished it.

We'd have time enough for that after we had sorely punished the Zuka Club for what they'd taken from us.


	35. This Is It

We were bloody, battered, broken, exhausted.

Tamaki was dead.

It was all we could do just to find the strength to keep moving at all, much less drag ourselves back to the foyer to regroup, shoving unconscious Benibara Fan Club members out of the way as we settled in a corner. I allowed Mori to tend to my leg while I leaned against the wall, feeling numb as I stared off into nowhere, trying not to think about how Tamaki could have fixed it up in a matter of moments. My resolve to focus on the here and now was already slipping away.

Makeshift bandage wrapped somewhat securely around my leg, I slid down the wall, trying to keep it together. We weren't done yet. Sooner or later we'd have to head back out into the school and find the rest of the Zuka Club.

As it turned out, they found us. Or Benibara did, anyway.

"Hello, Host Club," she drawled, coming down the main stairs at a leisurely pace. The others sprang to their feet, but I stayed where I was, anger and grief battling inside of me, keeping me motionless. "Suzuran told me I might find you here. But I have to ask, where is that blond cretin…Tamaki?" As a knowing, triumphant smile crept onto her face, my emotions suddenly settled on one thing – righteous fury. It drove me to stand up and run at Benibara, who was casually leaning against the railing of the staircase now.

"YOU – DO – NOT – SPEAK – HIS – NAME!" I screamed. "This is all your fault! How could you? He was your brother! Family meant everything to him; knowing who you were, he could never have brought himself to kill you, and now because of you, he's dead!" I reached Benibara and made to punch her. Before I knew what was happening, she had grabbed my fist and twisted me around painfully so I was on my knees, both arms pinned to my back.

"I have no brother," Benibara hissed in my ear. "Do you honestly think knowing he was the illegitimate child of my father with another woman would make me feel affectionate towards him? That I would 'see the error of my ways' and make nice with you? This only proves my point about men, and I'm going to kill every last one of them, starting with the six of you."

She let go and shoved me down the stairs, and I tumbled down, nearly breaking my neck, coming to a rest at the bottom. Curling up into a ball, every inch of my body aching, I wished the world would just go away and leave me alone. The Host Club ran to where I had landed.

"Boushi, are you okay?" Kaoru pulled me into a sitting position and brushed my hair away from my face, where it hung limply. I laughed mirthlessly.

"Why do you keep asking me that? What do you expect me to say? Look at me. I'm going to die, we're going to die, everyone's going to die, just like Tamaki." My wavering voice climbed higher and higher as I spoke, breaking as Tamaki's name escaped my lips. Tears were building up behind my eyes and threatening to drown me.

Suddenly, Hikaru slapped me across the face. We all turned and gaped at him, and I lightly touched my stinging cheek; I was more surprised than hurt, really. "Hikaru, what–?"

"Get ahold of yourself, woman!" he yelled, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "Tamaki didn't give his life so you could just give up on yours like this. I can't promise anything, much less that we're all going to make it out alive, but we are NOT giving up. Do you understand me?"

I could see everything I was feeling – pain, sorrow, anger – mirrored in Hikaru's eyes, and I knew he was right. No one said this would be easy, no one said we wouldn't hurt. No matter how bleak our prospects were, giving up was infinitely worse than trying and failing. Tamaki never would have even entertained the idea.

That thought, coupled with Hikaru's tough love, cleared my mind and gave me new strength. I pushed aside all my emotions, all my distractions, until all that was left was a determination to end this once and for all. Standing up, I stretched a hand towards Benibara and made a beckoning motion. "Bring it," I spat.

Benibara had been taking her sweet time until now, watching us with a bored expression on her face. She was just toying with us, biding her time. The way she saw it – and I was half-convinced she was right – it didn't matter what we did, because we had no chance either way. But to heck with that, I was not going down without giving Benibara the fight of her life.

She snapped her fingers, her pendant flashed, and suddenly, a huge chicken-like creature appeared from nowhere. It was nine feet tall, with a bright red comb that was bigger than me. The idea of a giant chicken attacking us probably would have been laughable had the creature not been so frightening. It reared its head back and scratched at the ground, and when it crowed, blue fire streamed from its mouth.

"It's a _basan,_" Kyoya said, and even he sounded frightened.

"And of frikkin' course it breathes fire," I muttered, fighting back panic. The only one left to tell me it was okay was me. I couldn't afford to be scared.

While I was giving myself a mental pep talk, the third-years had sprung into action. Mori tossed Hunny up into the air, and the smaller boy landed on the giant bird's head. It shook back and forth violently, and Hunny was thrown across the foyer. Mori made to run to his cousin, but Hunny, peeling himself off the floor, yelled, "Don't worry about me Takashi, I'm fine!"

Mori nodded. He turned and started climbing up the chicken's hind leg. When he was standing on its back, he started pummeling the crap out of it, for all that was worth. I had no idea if he was hurting the _basan, _but he got its attention at least. It began spinning in circles trying to catch a glimpse of its attacker, looking rather like a dog chasing its tail. Again, it would have been comical if we hadn't been trying not to be trampled by its huge talons.

Finally, the beast got fed up. Flapping its wings so hard that Mori nearly fell off, it started blasting the martial artist with fire – and probably realized too late that was a bad choice. Mori barely managed to leap to safety before the _basan's _entire body caught fire. We watched in horror as it flailed around, screeching in pain. Finally, it just kind of turned to dust which scattered as if by some unfelt wind, leaving only a faint scent of fried chicken behind.

Benibara scowled and started to summon a new monster, so I started yelling whatever came to my mind to stall her. "You're a coward!" That got her attention. "You hide behind people who would call you their friend, behind these creatures, and control them from the shadows. In reality, you're just a scared little girl who lost her mommy and can't do anything on her own."

Part of me couldn't believe what I'd said. I knew how it felt. If someone had played that card on me when my loss was still fresh…but I'd at least made peace with my mother's death. Benibara had been letting it fester for years now.

"What did you just say?" she snarled, taking a step towards us. "I'm a coward, am I? Hiding behind others, controlling them from the shadows?" Benibara was dangerously close now, and her amulet was glowing with a sickly light, casting flickering shadows on her face. "I'm not a coward, I'm the only one brave enough to do what has to be done for the sake of womankind. It's time to show you just what I can do when I step into the light!"

I caught my breath and stared, transfixed, as Benibara began to transform. Her eyes became as yellow as Hikaru's when he changed and her skin turned a pale green, beginning to form scales. Her legs melded together and grew into a tail three feet long. Her perfectly manicured nails became claws, and her teeth fangs. "Playtime's over, Host Club," she hissed, her now forked tongue darting out between her lips for an instant. "Now, you die."

We had only a moment to process what was going on, and she struck. Knowing I was the weakest link of the group at the moment, she lunged for me. I threw myself out of the way a split second before she made contact, but I didn't see her tail until it was too late. As thick as a grown man, it whipped back and struck me in the stomach, and I flew backward, coming to a stop only when I collided painfully with the wall. I slid slowly down it, clutching my chest and struggling to catch the breath that had been knocked out of me. Every bone in my body felt like it had been broken, but by some miracle, when I could breathe again, I managed to stand up.

In the minute or so I had been incapacitated, all hell had broken loose. Hikaru lay unmoving a few yards away from me, blood streaming from his arm, and his brother was nowhere to be seen. Hunny and Mori were trying to get close enough to Benibara to fight her, but between her tail and her apparent ability to belch fireballs, they weren't having much luck. Strips of paper were flying at Benibara from Kyoya's notebook and wherever one touched her skin, it left an angry red welt, but they were hardly enough to even distract the she-demon.

I wanted to rejoin the fight, but I had to check on Hikaru. Crawling over to him so as not to attract Benibara's attention, I tore off a strip of fabric from Tamaki's jacket and wrapped it around Hikaru's wound. He still didn't stir. "Hikaru, please, wake up," I whispered tearfully, shaking him by the shoulders. "Don't do this to me, you have to get up, do you hear me?"

Just when I was starting to fear the worst, Hikaru let out a moan and blinked his eyes open, sitting up blearily. I laughed in relief and hugged him.

"Ow, ow, careful," he said, pushing me away. Wincing, he rubbed his side. "I think I broke something."

"Can you stand?" I asked, standing up and holding my hand out to him. Taking it, he pulled himself up with great difficulty, but once he was up was steady on his feet. He nodded his thanks, his eyes travelling from my face to his make-shift bandage to the torn jacket.

"Milord's?" he asked quietly.

"He gave it to me before…" I couldn't finish the sentence. I wouldn't.

"Yeah," Hikaru murmured. He pressed his lips together pensively, then said, "We're gonna do this. All of us. For him."

I could only nod before Hikaru suddenly grabbed my arms and shoved us both back on the ground, where we rolled to the right before finally tumbling to a stop. Peeling myself off of Hikaru, I looked around to see why he'd tackled me, and spotted a smoldering crater in the ground where we'd just been standing. Benibara had evidently spotted us and tried to kill two birds with one stone.

Rolling to hide behind a pillar, Hikaru yelled, "Get out of the way!" I flattened myself on the floor and felt something huge and hot singe my hair. Gasping at the close call, I jumped to my feet and threw my arms out in front of me on a whim, hoping and praying my plan would work. Another fireball was heading straight for me, and I concentrated as hard as I could on pushing it back towards Benibara. I could feel slivers of white-hot fire lash out against my palms before it finally stopped, and then slowly, slowly, began to retrace its path, gaining momentum as I started to win the mental battle against the blazing projectile.

The she-demon let out a horrible screech as, caught unawares, the fireball consumed her. I caught my breath hopefully, but when the flames had dissipated, Benibara was still standing, albeit burnt and raw. "How…how dare you!" she cried, her voice cracking in pain.

"That's for Tamaki," I said defiantly.

Suddenly, a wild-man yell rang out, echoing in the huge room, and Kaoru jumped down from an upper balcony, where he must have been laying in wait for the right moment. The ginger landed on Benibara's back, wrapping his legs around her thick torso and his arms around her head. The snake woman flailed around wildly, trying free herself from Kaoru's grip. The younger Hitachiin hung on for dear life and pressed his palms hard against Benibara's temples, and the next moment, she was screaming in pain, clutching her head. Kaoru launched himself off her back, landing just out of reach of her tail.

_The tide is turning, _I dared to think. _We just need to keep running her down._ "Host Club, go!" I cried, channeling Tamaki's commanding presence in battle.

We resumed our attack in full force, hope giving our tired bodies new vigor as we fought on. The twins and the third-years would run in all at once, overwhelming Benibara by sheer numbers long enough to get in a good strike, and retreating before she could seriously hurt anyone. Kyoya continued to bombard the she-demon with exorcism slips, while I telepathically threw every blunt object I could muster the strength to lift at her. Benibara was strong, but her injuries slowed her down, and I could hear the effort it was costing her in every breath she took.

Finally, I saw my chance and took it. Benibara had left a huge gap in her defenses for too long, and I knew she was wearing out. As soon as I thought she wouldn't be expecting it, I ran straight at her and lunged.

"Bou-chan, what are you doing?" Hunny yelled. Rather than attacking, I had grabbed for Benibara's amulet. If it was the source of her powers, what happened to her if something happened to it? My fingers closed around the unassuming stone and I yanked, letting out a cry of triumph as the chain was ripped from around her neck. Before I could attempt to destroy the jewel, however, Benibara's long, clawed hands grabbed me around the torso and lifted me into the air, squeezing hard.

"Nice try, little girl," she hissed. Addressing the rest of the hosts, she yelled, "If anyone comes any closer, I snap her in half!"

The Host Club backed off immediately, and my heart sank as I realized what I'd done. It was over. I couldn't escape her clutches, and any minute now, I was going to die. With another man down, could the rest of the hosts pull off a victory? Would they even have the opportunity?

Tears filled my eyes as they swept over my friends, desperate for one last look before the end. As they caught Kyoya's gaze from over Benibara's shoulder, he inclined his head towards the amethyst, then jerked it backward, staring meaningfully at me.

_Trust me, _he mouthed. His hand twitched, and my eyes were drawn to the movement. In his fingers he held a small strip of paper he hadn't used yet, and I understood what he was trying to tell me. I nodded my agreement, and he mouthed, _3…2…1…now!_

In one last ditch effort, I lobbed the amulet as hard as I could in Kyoya's direction. With a scream of fury, Benibara turned around, holding me in one hand while trying to retrieve the stone that was just out of her grasp with the other. In one fluid motion, Kyoya lifted both hands in the air as if holding a bow taut with the exorcism slip in place of an arrow, and when he let go, the paper flew through the air. All eyes followed its graceful arc, watching as it zoomed towards the stone. When the two objects collided, the amethyst shattered into a million pieces, purple dust raining down on us all.

Hikaru and Kaoru let out whoops of glee that were drowned out by Benibara's horrific cry of anger and pain. Dropping me, she began to writhe around on the floor, slowly shrinking back into human form until she was nothing more than a sniveling, powerless young woman, burned and bruised. "I'll…I'll kill you all, I swear it…" she sobbed.

"Just shut up, you pathetic excuse for a human being," I said in disgust. Still not giving up, she struggled to her feet and threw herself at me. Simply stepping to the side, I watched as she tripped over her own feet and collapsed, shaking from the effort that one action had taken.

"What are we going to do with her?" Hunny asked.

For a while, no one answered. When it came right down to it, none of us were willing to take her life.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, for now, you know what to do. I'll see to it she gets what she deserves," Kyoya instructed, adjusting his glasses. The twins nodded and knelt beside Benibara, who was mumbling incoherently, laying on her side and rocking back and forth. Looking hesitant, the Hitachiins each laid a finger on Benibara's head, and she was still. Straightening up, they looked around at each other and the rest of us in a state of confusion.

"It's over," they said in unison.

"You're right. We did it," I breathed, letting it sink in. A laugh of joy bubbled up out of me. "Tamaki, we-" I broke off, grin frozen on my face as the realization hit me again. The laugh died as quick as it came. I stared at the empty space next to me, where Tamaki should have been.

We saved the world. We won.

So why did it feel like we lost?


	36. The Bittersweet End?

This should have been a moment to celebrate, but I found myself on my knees, sobbing as I clutched Tamaki's jacket, trying to bring back his warmth. How long had it been since the last time I'd cried like this, when Tamaki was there to comfort me? I had told myself then I would tell him someday how much he meant to me, and now he meant even more and I couldn't tell him anything.

As if our victory had been a cue, everyone else finally broke down around me. The twins collapsed into each other's arms, holding on for dear life. Bawling, Hunny threw his arms around Mori's waist, but the tall boy was too distraught to even comfort his cousin, staring off into the distance, looking lost.

Kyoya's reaction was absolutely terrifying. He was on his knees too, glasses slipping off his face, pounding his fist on the ground and cursing Tamaki's name under his breath. He was showing more emotion than I'd ever seen from him, and this public display of his feelings was what really drove home for me the magnitude of Tamaki's death.

Only a few minutes had passed when I heard footsteps near the stairs. _Suzuran._ I had completely forgotten she was still out there somewhere. We may have beaten Benibara, but that would probably just make the younger Zuka girl want to kill us even more.

As the footsteps echoed down the stairs, nothing but cold, all-consuming fury could have given me the strength to pull myself off the ground, raise my arms, wipe away my tears, and completely obliterate the staircase as the tall figure descended it. The rest of the Host Club looked up in surprise as, with a yelp, the falling body was swallowed in a great cloud of swirling dust. Breathing heavily, I ran forward, ready to strike again, when they pulled themselves out from a waist-deep pile of what used to be a staircase. I swear my heart stopped right then and there.

It was impossible.

He was standing right in front of me, sputtering and wiping dust from his face – but I'd seen him die.

Hadn't I?

Halfway to the pile of rubble already, I took another step forward.

"It could be a trap," Kaoru warned shakily from a few yards behind me, but I ignored him.

"Tamaki?" I called, my voice cracking.

Looking up at the sound of his name, Tamaki held up his arms in surrender. "It's me! Don't attack!"

I choked out a laugh. He was alive! He had a black eye, his clothes were torn and covered in blood, and a fine layer of dust had turned his unkempt blond hair white, but here he was, in the flesh.

"Tamaki!" I yelled again, fresh tears of joy spilling out as I ran towards him. When I was close enough, I threw myself at him, and he caught me around the waist, stumbling backward down the pile of rubble, barely managing not to fall over. Arms around Tamaki's neck, I hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go for fear he'd be gone when I did. I had to tell him how I felt before I lost him for real. Leaning back and looking up into his bemused face, I tried.

"Tamaki, I…I…" My lips didn't know how to form the words. They knew another way to tell him, though. Standing on tiptoe, I closed my eyes and leaned in, pressing my lips to his. A heartbeat's hesitation and he kissed me back. The magnitude of the earthquake that had nearly stolen Tamaki from me, all the adrenaline I'd felt as I watched the lightning he'd summoned crash down from above, they were nothing in comparison to this.

Too soon, Tamaki slowly pulled away, a smile dancing on his lips as he looked down at me. "First you try to kill me, then you kiss me…I'm getting mixed signals here."

"I thought you were dead!" I exclaimed.

"I should have almost died sooner," he joked, and I smacked him in the arm.

"Not funny! I…I really thought…" I took a deep breath to calm myself before I started hyperventilating. Tamaki ran his hand through my hair and smiled.

"Well, I'm fine. Better than fine, actually," he said, leaning in to kiss me again.

By this point, however, the rest of the Host Club had gotten over their shock at seeing Tamaki and had rushed over to where we were standing.

"Stupid Milord!" Hikaru and Kaoru yelled in unison, shoving me out of the way and tackling Tamaki with a hug. Hunny jumped into the pile, and Kyoya and Mori stood behind Tamaki, thumping him on the back the way guys do.

"Really, why is everyone so happy to see me?" Tamaki laughed, hugging his friends back. "You really thought I was dead?"

"Of course, what were we supposed to think?" Kaoru demanded, stepping back from the Tamaki-love-fest. "You were buried under a giant pile of boulders, what happened to you?"

"Buried…? Oh, you mean when you and Boushi almost got crushed?" Tamaki asked, staring at Kaoru and me. "Did you think I pushed you out of the way?"

"You mean you didn't?"

"Well, I did, but not physically. I knew I was too far to get to you in time, so I pushed you with the strongest gust of wind I could muster and hoped for the best. It might have been a little too strong," Tamaki said sheepishly. "I was worried I hadn't acted in time when I didn't hear anything from your side, but you must have been out cold."

"But then where did you go?" I asked. "You weren't there, Kyoya didn't see you leave, you were just gone!"

"I was about to check on you and Kaoru, because like I said, I feared the worst. Before I could, that Suzuran girl showed up out of nowhere, grabbed me, and teleported us…somewhere," he explained, throwing his hands up to indicate that he had no idea where in this huge building she had taken him.

"The whole point of separating us was so she could take us out one-by-one, but she wasn't counting on us finding each other. She tracked down Hunny-sempai first, underestimating him, and wasn't expecting him to have found Mori-sempai and Hikaru by then. I think that earthquake must have been caused by the giant plants she grew from under the school. Anyway, when Suzuran recognized that she was outnumbered, she went looking for an easier target, and seized the opportunity while Kaoru and Boushi were out to take me somewhere alone."

"What, did she tell you all of that? You have a knack for getting villains to monologue," Hikaru noted.

Ignoring Hikaru, Tamaki carried on. "Even as weak as she was from that electrical shock earlier, she didn't go down without a fight. But she over-exerted herself, and within minutes couldn't even stand up on her own." He looked around at all of us, our battle scars. "I only wish I'd gotten here sooner."

"We're just glad to have you here at all," Kyoya said, his emotional walls not quite back in place yet.

"So…this is it," I said in wonder. "We defeated the Zuka Club…no more monsters. No more fighting. Now what happens?"

"Now," Tamaki said, crossing over, taking my hand, and swiftly kissing me, "we have our whole lives ahead of us. So, we live."

I smiled. The Host Club had nearly gotten me killed in numerous ways, annoyed the crap out of me on a daily basis, and turned me into a cross-dresser. But it had also given me friends I'd do anything for and who would do anything for me, changed me for the better, and saved the world.

My whole life ahead of me, with these guys?

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

**The End.**

**A/N: …I don't even know what to say…it's really over! D: It's hard to believe I've been working on this story for, what, nearly 8 months now? That's a long time…thanks to anyone out there who's stuck with me since the beginning, and to everyone who's jumped on the bandwagon since then. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, subscribed to, and read Ghost Club, for being so awesome and giving me the encouragement to keep writing. You guys rock! **

** So, just to summarize…thank you. ^.^ And finally, this won't be the last you hear from me. I already have my next fanfic planned out and partly written, so keep an eye out, I'll be starting it soon-ish. Much love, Boushi~**


	37. Epilogue: Alternate Ending

_This should have been a moment to celebrate, but instead I found myself on my knees, sobbing…Tamaki was dead. _

_ I cried until I had run out of tears and kept crying. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. The good guys win, and everyone lives happily ever after. I had never been one for fairy tales, but even I had believed that. _

_ Not anymore. The good guys might have saved the world, but we couldn't save one young man, the one out of all of us who deserved it most, the one we owed everything to. _

_ Life isn't fair. Happy endings aren't always happy. I learned that the hard way, and I never forgot it. _

…

It's been seven years since our bittersweet triumph, the aftermath of which I remember like it was yesterday.

…

_After what felt like an eternity, we pulled ourselves together. Kyoya took charge, because if he didn't, who would? Mori drove us all to the nearest hospital run by the Ohtori group to get our wounds taken care of. Kyoya's authority and the deadened looks in our eyes staved off any questions that might have normally been asked of six teenagers waltzing into a hospital with severe blood loss, blunt force trauma, and broken bones._

_ The doctors called our parents that night to inform them of where we were, and allowed them to visit us in the morning. We had decided the only explanation that would be fair to them was the truth, all of it, but we had no clue how hard it would really be until Hunny quietly pointed out that we had to tell Tamaki's father. He arrived with the rest of our parents, and the moment I laid eyes on him I burst into tears. Dad pulled me into a tight hug and I let Kyoya explain everything, from the beginning. His voice never once faltered, and I wondered how hard it was for him to keep his mask on, or whether even the loss of his best friend was easy to pass off as nothing once he'd gotten used to the fact._

_ Stunned silence followed the end of the story, and I realized that Kyoya had left out the part about Benibara being Yuzuru's daughter. I could only imagine how he would have taken that, the knowledge that he was unintentionally at fault for everything that had happened because of Benibara, including the death of his son. As it was, he looked so distraught, so horrified at what he'd been told, that the full truth probably would have destroyed him._

_ "No," Yuzuru finally breathed. "Tamaki…" My father, although he was a complete stranger, placed a sympathetic hand on Yuzuru's shoulder, but he stood up and left the room without another word. Knowing there was nothing anyone could do or say for him right now, no one followed. _

_ The funeral was held in Tamaki's mother's hometown in the following month. I heard through the grapevine that there were complications involving Tamaki's grandmother, and the funeral was almost moved to Japan, but finally she agreed to let it happen in France. I'd never left the country before, but given the circumstances, I wasn't exactly excited._

_ A large number of students, mostly female, turned up. I wasn't sure what people outside of our immediate families had been told, but it didn't make a difference to me. They were all sobbing dramatically into lacey handkerchiefs and clinging to one another the day of the funeral, and that's when I had a sudden, familiar revelation._

_Just as when Mom had died, I asked myself what Tamaki would want, and the answer was clear. All he had ever wanted was to see his friends' smiling faces. Maybe he couldn't see them now, but I knew that crying forever would just be a disgrace to his memory. For as long as I lived, I would never forget him, but I wasn't going to keep mourning. I'd once heard that you shouldn't cry because it's over, you should smile because it happened, and that was what I was going to do. _

…

I own a chain of upscale boutiques now, and produce my own line of clothing. Despite Hikaru and Kaoru's offers, I never accepted their help. I wanted to make my own name for myself, and I did. People recognize my designs by the style I developed over time, and recognize me personally by my signature piece – a simple men's jacket, ripped, torn, and patched up, worn consistently through the years without regard for current trends. When people ask me if there's a story behind the jacket, I simply smile and tell them it was a gift.

If I'm being honest, for all my tough talk, it's not like I just moved on overnight. Maybe moving on isn't even the right term for it. I still hold Tamaki's memory in a special place in my heart, and he's my motivation to keep living and pursuing my dreams. Hope for the future Tamaki gave his life for keeps me going.

Today, the six alumni of the Host Club are meeting at Tamaki's grave in France. We do this every year. Even in death, Tamaki is still the glue that keeps the Host Club together. Hikaru and Kaoru are my nearest and dearest friends, but I rarely see Kyoya, Hunny, or Mori outside of these yearly gatherings.

I pull Tamaki's jacket tightly around me, feeling the chill in the air through the threadbare fabric as I lay a bouquet of roses at the headstone. We pass a solemn few moments in respectful silence before departing. By now, we've made our peace with Tamaki's death so that we could celebrate his life. We all learned to smile again because there's nothing more we could do. Tamaki's memory makes me happier because of the time we had together than it does sad because of the time we didn't.

Life is short. Life is pain, life is joy, life is loss, life is love. No matter your definition, one thing is certain.

Life goes on.

**A/N: What if Tamaki hadn't survived the earthquake at Lobelia's? Yes, six months later, I decide it's time for a "what if." Anyone who's still subscribed to this story probably doesn't even care anymore…to anyone reading my current fic, Reverse Reverse Trap, you get this instead of a new chapter today...sorry...**


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